Amidst a nationwide shortage of pediatric specialists, families caring for children with special health care needs in rural areas are often forced to travel long distances for care.
Physicians and parents agree that on top of bringing more specialists to rural areas, increasing the flow of information between agencies and making travel reimbursements easier to attain would ease some of this burden on families.
Mental health care workers are in high demand across California, especially in the rural pockets of the state. In the Eastern Sierra, providers are working to expand their in-person services while fighting insurance companies to be included in their networks. But the challenges are immense, especially when it comes to psychiatric care. Here’s what some providers are doing to increase access.
Two years ago, California voters overwhelmingly decided to enshrine the right to abortion services in the state constitution. And it wasn’t just coastal liberals: voters in the rural north, Central Valley, and Sierra Nevada all voted in favor of the proposition, despite also voting largely for Republican offices.
But many of these residents still lack access and have yet to implement effective solutions.
Today, there are 77 health care districts across California, providing care for tens of millions of people, mostly in rural areas. Inyo County, where Bishop is located, now has two.
But few community members know these districts exist or that they may be governing health care in their region.
Even in California, a state where voters overwhelmingly decided to protect the right to reproductive freedom in the constitution this November, many rural residents struggle to access abortion services.
These residents sometimes live hundreds of miles away from the nearest abortion clinic and lack the resources to trek to another part of the state.
Bonnie Burns was shocked into action the first time she learned that seniors were being coerced into Medicare Advantage plans that either didn’t suit their needs, misled them about costs, or lured them with benefits they wouldn’t actually receive.
A health care advocate for 40 years, Burns was outraged that a health insurance option intended to broaden coverage choices for California elders was instead being misused by unscrupulous marketers to seek profits.
The legacy of redlining in Fresno isn’t just linked to housing access. It also has deadly effects on air quality and preterm birth.
People living in substandard housing, a problem tied to redlining, are more likely to be exposed to wildfire smoke. This exposure can hurt pregnant people and the children they carry.