SACRAMENTO, Calif. 鈥 California state lawmakers this year are continuing their progressive tilt on health policy with dozens of proposals including a ban on a Froot Loops ingredient and free condoms for high schoolers.
As states increasingly fracture along partisan lines, California Democrats are stamping their supermajority on legislation that they will consider until they adjourn at the end of August. But the cost of these proposals will be a major factor given the enormity of the state鈥檚 deficit, currently estimated at between and .
Health Coverage
Lawmakers are again considering whether to create a government-run, single-payer health care system for all Californians. is Democratic Assembly member Ash Kalra鈥檚 second such attempt, after a similar bill failed in 2022. The price tag would be enormous, though proponents say there would also be related savings. The high potential cost left Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and others while the state faces a deficit.
would require , the state鈥檚 health insurance exchange, to offer health insurance policies to people who are otherwise not able to obtain coverage because of their immigration status, to the extent it can under federal law. That could eventually lead to similar to those .
Medical Debt
Health care providers and collection agencies would be barred from sharing patients鈥 medical debt with credit reporting agencies under . The bill would also prohibit credit reporting agencies from accepting, storing, or sharing any such information without consumer consent. Last year, the Biden administration announced plans to develop federal rules barring unpaid medical bills from affecting patients鈥 credit scores. California would be to remove medical bills from consumer credit reports.
Medi-Cal
The Medi-Cal program, which provides health care for low-income people, would be required to cover medically supportive food and nutrition starting July 1, 2026, under . The bill builds on an existing but limited pilot program. The legislation says Californians of color could benefit from adequate food and nutrition to combat largely preventable chronic health conditions, and it鈥檚 sought by the California Legislative Black Caucus as part of reparations for racial injustice.
More than 1.6 million California residents, , have been kicked off Medi-Cal since the state resumed annual eligibility checks that were halted during the covid-19 pandemic. would have the state seek federal approval to slow those disenrollments by taking steps such as letting people 19 and older keep their coverage automatically for 12 months.
Violence Prevention
An increase in attacks on health workers is prompting lawmakers to consider . In California, simple assault against workers inside an ER is considered the same as simple assault against almost anyone else, and carries a maximum punishment of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. In contrast, simple assault against emergency medical workers in the field, such as an EMT responding to a 911 call, carries maximum penalties of a $2,000 fine and a year in jail. would set the same maximum penalties for assaulting emergency health care workers on the job, whether they are in the field or an ER.
California could toughen penalties for interfering with reproductive health care services. Posting personal information or photographs of a patient or provider would be a felony if one of them is injured as a result. also boosts penalties for intimidation or obstruction.
Under , gun owners would have to lock up their weapons in state-approved safes or lockboxes where they would be inaccessible to anyone but the owner or another lawfully authorized user. Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino, the bill鈥檚 author, says that would make it tougher for anyone, including children, to use guns to harm themselves or others or use the weapons to commit crimes. Critics say it would make it harder to access the weapon when it鈥檚 needed, such as to counter a home invasion. Relatedly, and address gun violence restraining orders.
Substance Use
The has prompted several responses: would require the state鈥檚 public health department to partner with local public health agencies, wastewater treatment facilities, and others to pilot testing for traces of dangerous drugs in an effort to pinpoint drug hot spots and identify new drugs. would require workplace first-aid kits to include naloxone nasal spray, which . And senators have proposed aimed at curbing overdose deaths, particularly from the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Youth Welfare
Under , backed by a 鈥溾 campaign, school districts鈥 sex education curricula would have to include menstrual health. There was no registered opposition.
Public schools would have to make free condoms available to all pupils in grades nine to 12 under , which would help prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, according to the author, Democratic Sen. Caroline Menjivar. Democratic last year.
Reality show star a bipartisan bill to require more reporting on the treatment of youth in state-licensed short-term residential therapeutic programs. would require the state Department of Social Services to post information on the use of restraints and seclusion rooms on a public dashboard.
California would expand its regulation of hemp products, which have become increasingly popular among youths as a way to bypass the state鈥檚 adults-only restrictions on legal cannabis. would build on that Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said in hindsight .
Public schools would, under , generally be barred from providing food containing red dye 40, titanium dioxide, and other potentially harmful substances, which are currently used in products including . It鈥檚 Democratic Assembly member Jesse Gabriel鈥檚 to his legislation last year that attempted to ban a chemical used in Skittles.
Women鈥檚 Health
would ban the sale of menstrual products with intentionally added PFAS, also known as 鈥.鈥 PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to serious health problems. Newsom .
Public grade schools and community colleges would, under , have to provide 14 weeks of paid leave for pregnancies, miscarriages, childbirth, termination of pregnancies, or recovery. Newsom in 2019.
would of a 2019 law aimed at reducing the disproportionate rate of maternal mortality among Black women and other pregnant women of color.
Social Media
Social media companies could face substantial penalties if they don鈥檛 do enough to protect children, under . The measure would allow financial damages of up to $1 million for each child under age 18 who proves in court they were harmed, or three times the amount of the child鈥檚 actual damages. The industry opposes the bill, calling it .
Cyberbullies could face civil liabilities up to $75,000 under , and those damages could be sought by anyone. Under current law, damages are capped at $7,500 and may be pursued only by the state attorney general.
Wellness
Bosses could be fined for repeatedly contacting employees after working hours under , a 鈥渞ight to disconnect鈥 bill patterned after similar restrictions in 13 countries. The bill鈥檚 author, Democratic Assembly member Matt Haney, said despite the advent of smartphones that 鈥 between work and home life,鈥 employees shouldn鈥檛 be expected to work around the clock. The measure by the California Chamber of Commerce.
Finally, Democrat Anthony Rendon, a long-serving state Assembly speaker, is spending his last year in the chamber leading a first-in-the-nation on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes. The committee isn鈥檛 planning any legislation but after lawmakers adjourn in August.
This article was produced by 素人色情片Health News, which publishes , an editorially independent service of the .听
