The Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP) will host the first ITUP Policy Forum of 2022 on March 30 from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. The Policy Forum will convene experts for state-level discussions related to health policy in California and will feature constructive dialogue, problem-solving, and identification of creative policy solutions to today’s pressing health…
Read More »On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, announced a series of changes to COVID-19 masking guidance. The state leaders, pointing to declining case rates and hospitalizations throughout the West, updated indoor mask policies and mask guidance for K-12 schools. Specifically, in California, as of March…
Read More »On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order updating the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to align the standard with the state’s new indoor masking guidance. Executive Order N-5-22 specifies that as of March 1, 2022, masks will no longer be required for unvaccinated employees indoors but…
Read More »On Thursday during a visit to a mental health treatment center in Santa Clara County, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new policy framework to assist people living with untreated mental health and substance use disorders. The framework, entitled the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court, would require counties to provide comprehensive treatment to the…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released additional details regarding its proposal to sunset the Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Program, as set forth in the Governor’s January Budget. DHCS proposes to sunset the CHDP Program by July 1, 2023, to simplify and streamline the delivery of services to children…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) unveiled Medi-Cal’s Strategy to Support Health and Opportunity for Children and Families. Noting that DHCS is responsible for the health care of more than 50 percent of California’s children, the department is launching a strategy for families enrolled in Medi-Cal to unify threads of existing…
Read More »This week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $6 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family over their role in the opioid epidemic. Under the agreement, if Purdue’s bankruptcy reorganization plan is approved, the Sackler Family will pay up to an additional $1.675 billion to help abate the opioid crisis nationwide, bringing…
Read More »Today, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing all state agencies and departments to ensure their contractors are complying with economic sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. The order requires state agencies and departments within the Governor’s Administration to review their contracts for commodities, services, and technology and to terminate any…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Climate Change and Health Equity Section (CCHES) this week issued its monthly update summary for March 2022. In its update, CCHES highlights funding opportunities through the CDPH Office of Health Equity (OHE), state government updates, public comment opportunities on climate programming, and toolkit resources to support local work….
Read More »This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated three State Public Health Officer Orders allowing receipt of a COVID-19 booster to be deferred for up to 90 days for infections that occurred after the primary vaccine series. The updated orders apply to covered workers detailed in the three State Public Health Officer Orders…
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