Author: Mark Wrede

  “…opponents say that if Proposition 35 passes, the patients, workers, and programs they care about could lose millions of dollars included for them in this year’s state budget. That’s because the ballot measure would supersede the budget, and it leaves them out of the […]

  “California Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon decide whether the most populous U.S. state will join 25 others in regulating the middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, whom many policymakers blame for the soaring cost of prescription drugs.”     California May Regulate […]

  “The two presidential candidates covered a wide range of issues — from job and inflation numbers to abortion and immigration — in exchanges marked by personal attacks.”     Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights and Obamacare in Their First Face-Off   When Vice […]

  “Enrollment in Medicaid, the government health program for people with low incomes and disabilities, reached its highest level in April 2023. That was just before what’s called the ‘unwinding,’ the process states have used to disenroll people from the program after the federal government […]

  “Energy poverty can increase one’s exposure to extreme heat or cold, which raises the risk of developing respiratory issues, heart problems, allergies, kidney disorders, and other health conditions. And the burden falls disproportionately on households in communities of color, which experience it at a […]

  “When the Indian Health Service can’t provide medical care to Native Americans, the federal agency can refer them elsewhere. But each year, it rejects tens of thousands of requests to fund those appointments, forcing patients to go without treatment or pay daunting medical bills […]