Many Californians were undecided heading into Election Day on Gov. Newsom’s Proposition 1, which funds new mental health treatment facilities. As of noon Tuesday with about 5.8 million votes counted, the measure was leading by a margin of 50.3% to 49.7%.

Californians in March will vote on a $6.4 billion bond to build thousands of housing units for people with serious mental health conditions. A 2018 ballot measure made similar promises, but Santa Clara County and the rest of the state are falling short.

Locking up a California state prisoner for one year costs nearly twice as much as tuition at the state’s top private universities. The number surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains high because of inmate medical costs and pay boosts for prison guards and other workers.

Surprise ambulance bills can leave families deeply in debt after a medical emergency. A new state law that forces insurance companies to negotiate payments is expected to save Californians tens of millions of dollars a year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2022 budget included the latest expansion of MediCal: 700,000 undocumented immigrants between the ages of 26 and 49 will become eligible Jan. 1 although the state is now headed into a $68 billion deficit,

Unions representing 68,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in California put pressure on the health care giant to raise pay and address what they called understaffing during two strikes over the past year.

Several anti-abortion centers are advertising what they say is an abortion pill reversal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta calls the claims false advertising that mislead vulnerable patients.

California voters likely will see a mental health ballot measure on the March 2024 election. One would issue a $6 billion bond to create housing for people with mental illnesses.

Some California hospitals have a nurse vacancy rate of 30%, stressing overworked staff and causing some to leave the industry earlier than they planned.

Covered California will waive deductibles for many patients, and continue generous subsidies, but a projected 9.6% rate hike signals that runaway health care costs are back after five years of low premium increases.

California legislators have passed a slew of laws to protect abortion rights. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many fear attempting to regulate “crisis pregnancy centers” is legally risky.

California set up a fund to cut out-of-pocket costs for those enrolled in Covered California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget shifts that money to other expenses.

State health officials last year launched a first-ever competitive bidding process for its Medi-Cal insurance contracts, but when the winners were announced, several insurers complained about the process and its potential impact on patient care.

California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end Feb. 28, 2023, nearly three years from its initiation, officials from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced this week. The announcement on Oct.

As other states restrict or ban abortions, the California laws aim to improve access and protect patients and clinicians. They will also expand services to accommodate an expected influx from other states.