Two years ago, my son James was invited to speak at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C.
The 1999 Supreme Court case said people with disabilities have a right to receive care in their own homes and live in the community, rather than being forced to live in segregated institutional care facilities.
Large hospital systems in California — and the rest of the country — have been buying up independent physician offices under the guise of streamlined care. In reality, these acquisitions drive up fees and costs for patients without improving care at all.
The math does not work — not for physicians, and not for patients — until policymakers can fix the significant dangers associated with vertical integration.
Every year, an estimated 1 or more million patients venture from California to Mexico to obtain medical treatments and medicines, and a large contingent of these are aging people.
Cost is the main reason to make the trip for 60 to 70 percent of patients, said Arturo Vargas Bustamante, a professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
The most popular treatments among older patients who cross the border are dental services.
Gas prices have been surging — especially in California, where an average gallon of fuel is now just under $6. While everyone is feeling the pain, advocates urge older adults and people with disabilities to consider some of the available low-cost or free transportation solutions.
But because transportation is a fragmented offering — from your health insurance company to government agencies and nonprofits — it may take a bit of sleuthing to understand the available services in your area.
Many doctors don’t see or don’t want to see Medi-Cal patients. It’s all about pay. In fact, the latest federal government adjustment reduced physician fees by 2.8 percent, exacerbating the problem. California voters passed Proposition 35 in November 2024, to increase pay to doctors treating Medi-Cal patients, but it hasn’t been implemented yet.
The payment pressure doesn’t just affect who gets seen, it also shapes how they’re seen.
It strikes me that embarrassment is a huge barrier to participation in physical activity for aging people, and it’s not even the most substantial one. Other obstacles include lack of money or transportation to attend an age-appropriate exercise class. In some cases, older adults are hobbled by arthritis or are wheelchair-bound. And sometimes taking a walk isn’t a viable option when a neighborhood doesn’t feel safe or the sidewalk is cracked and pitted.
I’ve spent my career protecting kids from Big Tobacco. But you don’t need to be an expert to understand that candy-flavored tobacco products were created to hook kids on nicotine.
Unfortunately, this isn’t stopping Big Tobacco. The industry is on a hot streak of weakening federal tobacco regulations, making it essential for California’s leaders to defend our flavor ban and keep our kids safe.
California closely monitors whether nursing home residents fall. Regulators track incidents, facilities report them and safety policies revolve around preventing them.
Yet a more fundamental question often goes unasked: Can residents walk?
When safety becomes the only measurable outcome, unintended consequences can follow.
Like most parents, my wife and I want our daughter to be kind, happy and safe — but what does safety really mean?
What kind of safety can we ensure in a society deeply rooted in sexism and patriarchal violence? How do we teach her to be safe — without instilling a fear of men or of people who’ve committed past harms? How do we show her to be strong without masking her vulnerability? To be assertive yet expansive in her compassion?
As California lawmakers race to hash out what will get nixed and what will remain in the state’s strained 2026-27 budget before the constitutional June 15 deadline, aging and disability advocates are sounding alarms.
A consortium of 166 organizations say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposals break a promise and target the state’s most vulnerable residents.
When California committed to “Medi-Cal for All Children” a decade ago, it made a powerful promise to families from all backgrounds: No child will go without health care. It was a defining moment and a strong example of California taking the lead on kids’ health and setting an example for the country.
Today, that promise is in danger of being broken.
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