Kristen Hwang
CalMattersKristen Hwang is a health reporter for CalMatters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics, and a JPR news partner.. She covers , abortion and reproductive health, workforce issues, drug costs and emerging public health matters.
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California voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure that increases pay to doctors with Medi-Cal patients. The Newsom administration missed an early deadline to begin implementing it. -
The Trump administration clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to California health agencies, likely affecting investigations into disease outbreaks and other public health services. -
California is spending more than it expected on Medi-Cal and Republican lawmakers are pointing to coverage expansions that benefited immigrant households. -
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities. -
Gov. Gavin Newsom has yet to make good on his promise of state-produced, affordable insulin for diabetics. What's the hold up? -
President 鈥淭rump had a particularly significant impact on the 9th Circuit鈥� in his first term, moving the reliably liberal appeals court to the right. That could influence abortion policy in the West. -
Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 signed a law allowing California to manufacture its own insulin, an effort to bring down the cost of the drug. The project is years away from delivering medicine to anyone, although prices have fallen for other reasons. -
Birth centers are midwife-run facilities that deliver babies outside of hospitals. They have struggled to stay in business in part because of strict state licensing requirements. -
California laws governing health insurance, access to abortion and health care for undocumented immigrants could be contested during a second Trump administration. -
Providence St. Joseph Hospital agreed to provide emergency abortions after the state sued it, alleging it denied care to a woman who miscarried. -
Prop. 35 would take an existing tax on health insurance plans and use the money to increase payment to doctors and other providers who see Medi-Cal patients. Its supporters have raised $50 million, drawing from groups representing hospitals, doctors and insurers. -
California鈥檚 new cap on health care cost increases is regarded as the most aggressive in the nation. It includes potential fines against companies that exceed the limit.