Senators Lamar Alexander, a Republican of Tennessee, and Patty Murray, a Democrat of Washington, reached a deal Tuesday to fund the subsidies for two years. That deal needs a Congressional vote to be approved but even if it falls through, low-income residents in California will still be unaffected.
The combination of soaring rents and aging baby boomers has created an insatiable demand for affordable housing in California. Thousands of people apply just to get on a wait list. As a result, some low-income seniors die still hoping for a place of their own. In the meantime, they cram into shared spaces, live with family, sleep on couches or even end up homeless.
By one measure—ozone levels—air quality has improved statewide since 1980, but pockets of California continue to experience poor air quality.
When I first met Daniel, he was 2 months old. His aunt, Sandra, brought him to the clinic in South Los Angeles where I work as a pediatrician because he had persistent coughing. While I was examining his lungs, he coughed so hard that he vomited in my hair. I was worried that he might have whooping cough and I started asking more about his history. First question: Why was he with his aunt and not his parents?
Sandra told me that U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, known as ICE, had detained both of Daniel’s parents in June after a domestic violence event that occurred in public.
A new bill from Baldwin Park Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio aims to make it easier for domestic violence victims to receive CalWORKs and ensure that caseworkers offer resources to survivors.
In the last 15 years, the number of children enrolled in California’s low-income health program has steadily grown. Hospital discharge data for children illustrates this trend, according to a report released earlier this month by Kidsdata using figures from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
Norma has been working since she was a teenager. She started working as a farmworker, then became a cannery worker and now works in childcare. Now at 60 years old, she is unsure if she “will ever be able to retire.” Her story is illustrative of the challenges that Latino seniors face trying to afford retirement, health care, food and housing.
In the first six months of California’s new End of Life Option Act, which allows some terminally ill patients to end their lives with medication, there have been no initial surprises. California statistics are so far quite similar to those reported by Oregon and Washington, which also have aid-in-dying laws. However, many people seeking to use the End of Life Act are having trouble doing so.
When Jackie called her assigned primary-care physician for the first time, she was told that her doctor was a specialist, not a primary care physician. She would need to see someone else, they informed her. Jackie then called her insurance company, and asked for help finding another doctor. Armed with a list from the insurance company, Jackie tried again, calling a doctor in the insurer’s directory. But, she recounted, “the receptionist said, ‘He’s not taking anybody and we’ve been trying to get off the list for three years.’”
CHIP has historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support, but that’s no longer the case. Without an extension by Sept. 30, millions of children may lose their access to health care, including children in California. The state will be out of money by March 2018 if the program isn’t renewed at the federal level.