This week, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released its analysis of the proposed statewide ballot initiative to limit the government’s role to an advisory capacity during any health crisis. Recall, paperwork was filed with the California Attorney General’s Office in September to begin the initiative process, which will eventually be required to collect 623,212…
Read More »The California Bureau of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) is expected to announce in November a new request for applications (RFA) for a second round of the Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program. Recall, Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis, requires grant funds to be provided to local governments to assist with law enforcement,…
Read More »Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the opening of the state’s new laboratory in Valencia in Los Angeles County to increase the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity and reduce test turnaround time. In partnership with PerkinElmer, the new $25 million lab will begin processing tests starting in November and will work toward full capacity of 150,000 tests…
Read More »On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom and California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced that Washington, Oregon, and Nevada have joined California’s COVID-19 Safety Review Workgroup which will be tasked with independently reviewing the safety and efficacy of any vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for distribution. Recall, last…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced the COVID-19 Vaccine Drafting Guidelines Workgroup to advise the state on COVID-19 vaccine prioritization and allocation. Building on the state’s COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, the Drafting Guidelines Workgroup is comprised of immunization, geriatrics, ethics, epidemiology, health equity, and pharmacy practice experts. The group is…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), along with the Departments of Labor and Treasury, issued an interim final rule with comment period (IFC) to remove administrative barriers to eliminate potential delays to patient access to a COVID-19 vaccine once available among Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as those with…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Finance (DOF) notified the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) of a 120-day extension on the use of funds from the state’s Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account (DREOA) to support response activities to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In its letter, DOF indicated that, despite progress made under the state’s Blueprint for…
Read More »This week, the California State Senate and Assembly convened separate oversight hearings to explore the COVID-19-related impacts on education and distance learning, as well as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Below, brief summaries of the hearings are provided. Senate Joint Oversight Hearing on Distance Learning On Monday, the Senate Education Committee and Senate Special Committee on…
Read More »On Tuesday, the Assembly Health Committee, chaired by Assembly Member Jim Wood, convened a lengthy afternoon hearing to hear from a series of experts on health care affordability in California. Five panels covered topics such as health care spending in the state, health care cost drivers, the availability of health data in the state, health…
Read More »On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom returned to a Yolo County hotel where he launched in April the state’s Project Roomkey initiative to announce the seventh and final round of awards to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. The seventh round of awards total $129.6 million awarded to nine jurisdictions for 17 projects providing…
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