Kristen Hwang
CalMattersKristen Hwang is a health reporter for CalMatters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics, and a JPR news partner.. She covers health care access, abortion and reproductive health, workforce issues, drug costs and emerging public health matters.
-
California’s suit contends that Trump’s signature tax law is unconstitutionally vague and requires states to violate Planned Parenthood’s First Amendment rights. -
Only a handful of Planned Parenthood organizations will continue to receive money from the federal government. None of them are in California. -
The GOP budget bill made significant changes to Covered California, which experts and insurers say will increase out-of-pocket costs for consumers. -
Doctors regularly need to pay more than $300,000 for medical school, including tuition and housing. New regulations signed by President Donald Trump cap their federal borrowing at $200,000 for medical degrees. -
Lower-income people will be the hardest hit. Over the next 10 years, 3.4 million Californians could lose coverage. -
The Legislature is considering phasing out chemical additives in school meals linked to health problems. Opponents say the definitions are so broad that it could ban items like tomato sauce and olive oil. -
Many undocumented immigrants have long feared that their Medi-Cal data would be used against them. Newsom calls it “an abuse.” -
Newsom’s Medi-Cal budget plan would shift money for voter-approved increases in doctors’ pay and reproductive care to cover other expenses. The cost of the low-income health insurance program has been growing rapidly. -
California uses Medicaid to pay for a range of nontraditional health care services, including housing. The Trump administration wants to scale back those programs. -
California voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure that increases pay to doctors with Medi-Cal patients. The Newsom administration missed an early deadline to begin implementing it. -
The Trump administration clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to California health agencies, likely affecting investigations into disease outbreaks and other public health services. -
California is spending more than it expected on Medi-Cal and Republican lawmakers are pointing to coverage expansions that benefited immigrant households.
