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 rolled out its 988 mental health crisis response hot line in July 2022, architects believed it would lead to an overhaul of the emergency medical system.
That hasn’t quite come to pass, but most communities across the state have taken steps toward this vision — and some of them have robust systems. Now they are worried about losing them due to looming federal and state budget cuts.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of multiple generations sharing living spaces. However, people living in multi-generational households also have increased risk of infections.
These risks can be reduced with preventative health measures, experts say.
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.
Into the void left by a health care system that doesn’t offer sufficient translation services and an economy that demands grueling labor from low-wage workers, Punjabi residents in Fresno have created an organization to help each other.
A team of five community health workers visit Sikh temples and Punjabi-populated neighborhoods to assist in accessing health care.
California is the first state in the country to expand Medicaid to all qualifying adults regardless of immigration status.
But many undocumented immigrants, especially those who live in parts of California where the cost of living is much higher, earn slightly too much money to qualify for Medi-Cal.
In California, over 98 percent of newborns are screened for hearing loss. But when it comes to intervention, there is little action to ensure these children are supported.
A bill pending in the California Senate aims to rectify problems with the state’s current Hearing Aid Coverage program and expand hearing aid access to thousands of families across the state.
California’s rural north has significantly worse health care access than the rest of the state.
The barriers to treatment are even higher when residents try to access care from specialist physicians. When patients or families experience difficulties accessing needed medical care, it multiplies existing social needs, increasing patients’ risk of things like substance use, housing uncertainty and domestic violence.
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.
In many Asian Americans communities, reluctance to seek mental health care is common. A 2007 study found that less than 9 percent of Asian-Americans sought any type of mental health services compared to nearly 18 percent of the general population nationwide.
According to experts familiar with the Asian American experience, stigma, pressure to live up to the myth of Asian American success, and culturally inappropriate services prevent people from getting the mental health care they need.