Ana B. Ibarra /CalMatters

Gaps in COVID vaccination rates among the state’s Medi-Cal population persist. Five Medi-Cal plans still have vaccination rates under 50%.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is pushing a first-in-the-nation plan for California to partner with a drugmaker to produce cheaper insulin. It’s one of many proposed state and federal remedies to soaring insulin costs.

Expiration of two COVID-19 emergency programs means Californians could lose their Medi-Cal insurance or find Covered California unaffordable.

Many working undocumented immigrants won’t qualify for state health insurance even if they don’t earn a living wage. That leaves them with few viable options for coverage.

Millions of Californians at high risk from conditions like heart disease, autoimmune disorders and diabetes feel unprotected and forgotten as the state rolls back its COVID orders.

With 7 million Californians infected, how risky is it to work? When is it safe for omicron-infected workers to return?

Although state and federal rules require COVID tests to be free or covered by health insurance, people often have to pay hundreds of dollars upfront.

In 19 California counties, less than a third of vaccinated residents are boosted. In some counties, it’s less than 25%. One health official blames “pandemic fatigue.”

The Valencia lab, a public-private venture between the state and PerkinElmer, processed only 1 to 8% of all Californians’ COVID tests in the first 10 months of the contract. And the lab was riddled with dozens of problems, according to an inspection report.

The answer is no in many parts of California. Eighteen counties, mostly rural ones, have more hospitalized COVID-19 patients today than a year ago.

Propelled by the delta variant and large numbers of unvaccinated people, COVID-19 patients are flooding California hospitals at a rate not seen since last winter’s surge.

In all California counties, Medi-Cal enrollees have been vaccinated at substantially lower rates than the overall population. Experts point to several factors for this economic divide, like the inability of low-income people to take time off work.