The California Legislature passed a pair of bills greenlighting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign to build 10,000 new beds and housing units and increase drug addiction treatment as part of his response to the state’s homelessness and drug crises. The Democratic governor is expected to sign the bills, which received bipartisan support. Newsom will now ask voters to approve the changes on the March primary ballot.
Author Archives: Molly Castle Work
Molly Castle Work, Correspondent, covers health care in California. She has reported on a range of topics including hospital charity care, crisis pregnancy centers, and hospital lawsuits against indebted patients — the last of which earned first place for investigative reporting in the Association of Health Care Journalists’ 2023 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She previously worked as an investigative reporter for the Post Bulletin in Rochester, Minnesota. Before entering the journalism field, she spent six years working in college access and higher-ed communications. She is a California native and holds a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and a master’s from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
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La deuda médica personal en el condado de Los Ángeles supera los $2.600 millones; latinos y afroamericanos son los más perjudicados
Alrededor de 810,000 adultos del condado de Los Ángeles, o uno de cada 10, deben en conjunto más de $2,600 millones en deuda médica, según un nuevo análisis. Esta asombrosa suma sugiere que la ampliación de la cobertura de salud no los ha protegido necesariamente de contraer deudas onerosas. Según el informe “Deuda médica en […]
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As personal medical debt in Los Angeles County tops $2.6 Billion, Latinos and Blacks most harmed
About 810,000, or 1 in 10, Los Angeles County adults together owe more than $2.6 billion in medical debt as of 2021, a new analysis has found — a staggering sum that suggests extending health coverage to more people doesn’t necessarily protect them from burdensome debt. medical debt disproportionately affects the uninsured and underinsured, low-income residents, and Black and Latino populations. It said the consequences are alarming, noting that debt negatively impacts factors that determine future health outcomes, such as housing, employment, food security, and access to prescriptions and health care.