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California justices seem skeptical of Sheriff Chad Bianco’s defense in ballot seizure case
California’s Supreme Court questioned whether Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco was within his legal rights when he seized the ballots
Kaiser used an algorithm — not clinicians — to triage mental health patients, a union alleges
A therapists' union alleges Kaiser's e-visit tool screens mental health patients and issues care recommendations without real-time clinician review, which the union says violates state law.
Calmatters: Should California Backfill Science Funding Trump Cut? Voters Could Decide In 2028
CalMatters
Big Tech and Big Business are spending millions to block progressives on the California ballot
Groups funded by Meta, Google, and cryptocurrency billionaires have spent millions trying to sway voters, especially in races with two Democrats on the ballot
Democrats have lost Silicon Valley. Here's what it will take to win it back
If Democrats want to become the party of the future again, they need to stop treating the people building the future like political enemies.
California Democrats defy Newsom, back billionaire tax
The state’s Democratic Party voted to support California’s billionaire tax, siding with a growing populist movement seeking accountability for the rich
Which version of Gavin Newsom will voters see if he runs for president?
Gavin Newsom has been trying to adjust his national image, but that can be tricky in an era of political volatility.
California falls short on Medi-Cal fraud, state report says
The program serves 14 million Californians and pays out $200 billion a year. State health officials dispute the findings.
California lawmakers strike wildfire deal that leaves out most of Newsom’s big demands
Newsom backed off his plan to ease utilities' wildfire costs after Democratic lawmakers refused to shift the burden to insurers and survivors
Medicaid cuts stand to hit everyone (yes, even you). Here’s why
Even privately insured Californians could see longer ER waits and rising premiums as hospitals absorb Medi-Cal cuts.
California to buy defunct horse track and turn it into the Bay Area's newest public park
California lawmakers struck a deal to divert $125 million in climate funding to buy the former Golden Gate Fields track and turn it into a park
Newsom vetoes insurance-claim bills: Is it ‘petty’ politics?
California governor rejects legislation sponsored by LA fire victims, who had spoken out against his wildfire-liability effort.
California’s Healthcare Affordability Office Claims Power to Punish Overspending Hospitals
Noozhawk republishes news articles from CalMatters on state and local policy issues that affect Santa Barbara County readers. Year after
As AI 'therapists' dish out advice, California lawmakers try to set some limits
A new bill would stop companies from marketing chatbots as therapy and force stricter oversight of AI in mental health care — as a labor union wages a parallel fight against Kaiser Permanente.
Trump sues California over allegations of noncitizens registering to vote
The Trump administration is demanding records from Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties as it looks for instances of noncitizens voting
Parents of transgender kids say California is ‘unprepared’ as feds cut off their healthcare
Parents of transgender kids warned California for months. State officials are rushing to find money before the Oct. 13 deadline.
California nearly achieved universal healthcare. Now, millions are losing coverage
California's uninsured rate could nearly double by 2030, with the sharpest losses hitting Black, Asian and Latino residents in Southern California.
California's political hopefuls remain silent on state's job losses, unemployment
California has lost jobs and its workforce. By many measures, it has some of the highest unemployment or underemployment rates in the country.
Newsom vetoes insurance-claim bills: Is it ‘petty’ politics?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills that would have helped improve the insurance-claims process for consumers but signed one that also addresses claims-related issues, leaving Los Angeles County fire survivors and others wondering whether the vetoes were retaliatory. One bill, Senate Bill 877, […]
These California Republicans have one advantage in the race for Congress: Money
Republicans have more cash than Democrats in California swing races. Could that help them foil Democrats’ Prop. 50 plan of gaining five seats?
Proposition 44 wrongly squeezes politics between California patients and their healthcare
Community clinics in California do not meet the arbitrary standards Proposition 44 would create, jeopardizing healthcare services statewide.
Neither Becerra nor Hilton will commit to AI safety guidelines Newsom laid out Friday
Both Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton agree AI safety is important. What they will do to ensure it is less clear
California sanctions insurer after it cut assisted living coverage to thousands
State regulators found eight violations after Health Net's abrupt benefit cuts endangered vulnerable Medi-Cal patients.
Should California taxpayers chip in to fund political campaigns? Prop. 4 lets you decide
Prop. 4 proponents say allowing candidates to use public funds for campaigns will encourage more to run. Opponents say there’s little evidence.
Healthcare costs are surging. Taxing billionaires will help Californians keep their coverage
Funding cuts have put a healthcare crisis on California's doorstep. With a one-time tax on billionaires, Californians will see relief, a nurse argues.
Tech billionaires are spending millions to reshape California’s Legislature
Tech billionaires funding PACs have enjoyed recent growth in personal and corporate wealth and are spending it to handpick the Legislature.
California wants to ban child marriage. Why are these civil rights groups trying to stop it?
Anyone under the age of 18 can get married in California. While lawmakers seek to restrict the practices, these liberal groups tried to block it.
Why truckers always seem to be on the phone while they drive on the highway
What's the best way for truckers to maintain friendships while they're isolated in their cabs? For many of them the answer is a very long phone call.
Newsom signs anti-monopoly bill after bruising legislative battle
California’s new antitrust law will let prosecutors sue businesses for anticompetitive conduct, but not individuals
In standoff with Newsom, California Democrats claw back $450 million for climate projects
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new carbon market rules threatened money for certain climate programs. He struck a deal to continue funding for transit and water projects.
The same union supporting a billionaire tax wants voters to limit clinic spending. Here’s what to know about Prop. 44
Prop. 44 would require clinics to spend more money on patient care, but clinics say the measure will bankrupt them.
He championed vaccine mandates. Will that record help him unseat a party-shifting conservative?
In one of California’s newly created congressional districts, candidates diverge sharply on healthcare issues, but most voters agree healthcare costs too much.
California nearly achieved universal healthcare. Now, millions are losing coverage
State and federal cuts could push California's uninsured rate to nearly 15% by 2030 — hitting immigrants and low-income families hardest. Watch the new CalMatters documentary.
Will Democrats’ midterm wave reach California’s Central Valley? Bernie Sanders rallies the vote
Bernie Sanders rallied hundreds in sweltering Bakersfield heat for Randy Villegas, a progressive long shot in one of the nation's most contested House races.
Why are out-of-state billionaires funding a California voter ID measure?
Packaging magnate and Illinois businessman Richard Uhilein and venture capitalists Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are among the big spenders bankrolling California’s voter ID measure.
Most California lawmakers never buck their party. These few do
In California's lockstep Legislature, breaking party ranks is rare. Meet the handful of mavericks who do it anyway
California's healthcare affordability office claims power to punish overspending hospitals
The state's new penalty framework could fine hospitals and insurers up to 125% of overspending, with enforcement starting as early as 2028.
Gavin Newsom paddles to the political right with 3 notable vetoes
Newsom's rejection of pension, work-from-home and environmental bills won points with the right but angered some unions and advocacy groups.
California Republicans tried to cut him off. Then he beat them from the right
The conservative group Reform California promotes candidates to the right of the California GOP. They won in several key primary races
Sacramento Bee slashes staff as Gov. Gavin Newsom weighs state aid for news outlets
After a 144-year-old newspaper war, a bankruptcy and the internet gobbling its ad revenue, the Sacramento Bee is deeply cutting its staff, its owners announced.
Fact check: Did Newsom’s mental health court hit his goal for helping Californians?
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week claimed a major victory for CARE Court, his program to provide mental health treatment to Californians with serious conditions. Did it really help 10,000 people?"
Public financing of California's electoral campaigns could curb power of money in politics
California's political system makes it difficult to get elected without personal wealth or wealthy donors, a psychology professor argues.
California's political battle over key environmental law brews on two fronts
Legislators this week and voters this November will weigh in on measures to curtail some of CEQA's vexing construction project restrictions.
This institute could get $4 billion from a ballot measure. With just three workers, is it ready?
If California voters approve it, Prop. 38 will direct $4 billion to one research institute. Only one institute currently qualifies for the money.
Is this America's most normal congressional race? San Diego candidates run on classic platforms
Democrat Marni von Wilpert and Republican Jim Desmond are vying for the 48th Congressional District’s swing voters with moderate, establishment politics
‘There is nothing else’: Californians face eviction as insurer cancels assisted living benefit
Thousands of California families are facing abrupt cancellations of coverage for assisted living as insurer Health Net adjusts the benefits it provides.
California high-speed rail fails to accomplish most of its legislative goals for 2026
California’s bullet train agency said timely construction of the rail line depended on these reforms. They mostly failed.
Republican Hilton's ‘Just try it' ad courts liberals — and angers his own base
A suggestive campaign ad from California Republican governor candidate Steve Hilton pushes buttons; some conservatives say it goes too far.
Abortion pills to be offered at California community college health centers under new law
Gov. Newsom has signed a law requiring most community colleges to offer abortion medication as of 2029. Public universities in California already do.
Republicans are spending millions to oust a Democrat who won by 187 votes. Should he worry?
Adam Gray won California’s closest House race by 187 votes in 2024. Now, Republicans are spending millions trying to reclaim the Central Valley seat.
Medi-Cal won't pay for assisted living in most of California. One brother fought back
A brother spent 9 months fighting Medi-Cal so his sister could get assisted living near home instead of a nursing home.
Big Tech and Big Business are spending millions to block progressives on the California ballot
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. With less than three weeks until Election Day, outside groups are pouring millions of dollars into two types of state legislative races: purple districts featuring a Democrat and a Republican, and safely Democratic districts featuring Democrats of different ideological stripes. Political action committees […]
Why a signature Newsom power move flopped in the last days of the Legislative session
The lame-duck governor's penchant for pushing last-minute demands on California’s Legislature didn't work out as it has in years past.
California lawmakers greenlight a new San Diego sports arena, bypassing environmental hurdles
California leaders pushed through a controversial last-minute deal to protect the major project from environmental lawsuits.
New laws make incremental tweaks to California’s mental health court, while bigger changes nixed
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws designed to help CARE Court better connect Californians with mental health care.
Newsom vetoes insurance-claim bills: Is it ‘petty’ politics?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills that would have helped improve the insurance-claims process for consumers but signed one that also addresses claims-related issues, leaving Los Angeles County fire survivors and others wondering whether the vetoes were retaliatory. One bill, Senate Bill 877, […]
Can California help lower the cost of GLP-1s? Here’s what lawmakers are proposing
An LA-area Democrat wants California to partner with drug manufacturers to make weight loss drugs cheaper — drawing on her own experience paying out of pocket.
Why you’re voting on how medical clinics spend their money
California’s Prop 44 limits how medical clinics spend on administrative expenses. A healthcare union argues some are shortchanging patient services.
Should California backfill science funding Trump cut? Voters could decide in 2028
Last year the Trump administration cut more than 1,000 California science research grants. A bond measure would restore some of that funding.
ICE gives detention centers high marks for health under Trump even as deaths climb, report finds
Immigrant detention centers are receiving high marks for health and safety under the Trump administration, according to a new investigation by the Project on Government Oversight.
Abortion pills to be offered at California community college health centers under new law
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Community colleges in California will be required to offer abortion medication through campus health centers starting in 2029, under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday. Through the Community College Student Right to Access Act, California will extend the reproductive health […]
MyChart and a major hospital said I could opt out of sharing my health data. But they didn’t make it easy
My journey with MyChart and a major hospital included a notary, the hospital not honoring its own policies and employees that gave me wrong information.
Democrats want to change the rules for recall elections. Voters get their say with Prop. 5
Democrats say the recall process has gotten out of hand and they want to drop the 'second question' to replace a politician.
California's clashes over business regulation rage on as legislative session nears end
Unions, consumer groups, personal injury lawyers and environmentalists are battling business groups over surveillance pricing and anti-monopoly bills.
Why truckers always seem to be on the phone while they drive
Social media is linked to feelings of isolation, but less so for truckers. They benefit from long phone calls and connections on apps like FaceTime and WhatsApp.
Inside Gavin Newsom's taxpayer-funded team that never stops posting
Gavin Newsom has been a Twitch stream guest, a Substacker, a Tiktoker and a podcast bro. Here’s how he’s used the media to boost himself as governor.
Xavier Becerra gets to play it safe in the race for governor, and he isn't making promises
The Democratic frontrunner is exceedingly cautious, preferring to study policy and avoid making promises he might not be able to keep
Will Republicans help this underdog liberal unseat a longtime Democratic congressman?
As young progressive Democrats across the country successfully unseat older incumbents, one California Democratic challenger is courting Republicans instead
Will California progressivism crush Newsom presidential hopes?
Gavin Newsom leaves office in a few months, allowing him to devote all of his time to a 2028 presidential run. The question is whether he can sell a progressive agenda outside the comfortable confines of California.
In Becerra and Hilton’s only scheduled debate, Trump was the main character
Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton clashed over taxes, immigration and housing — and how Trump has addressed them
How San Francisco's ridiculous housing prices are defining the race to replace Pelosi
As San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and Sen. Scott Wiener fight to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, their track records on affordable housing could be decisive in the tight race for Congress.
What will California's next governor do about healthcare? Here are Becerra and Hilton's plans
Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton say they’re mindful of voters’ worries about healthcare costs, but their plans don’t have much detail.
Gavin Newsom backs measure to kill the billionaire tax and ban future wealth taxes
Gov. Gavin Newsom isn't just fighting the billionaire tax. He's backing Prop. 42, which would ban future wealth taxes in California, too.
CA is dismantling its healthcare system
In a new documentary, CalMatters goes inside a Los Angeles clinic to examine how Californians are being forced to choose between medicine and food.
California to get more power to sue big businesses under anti-monopoly bill going to Newsom
California prosecutors would gain new powers to sue big businesses over anti-competitive practices under a bill Democratic lawmakers sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Anti-abortion advocates say it’s possible to 'reverse' an abortion. California wants them to stop
A California judge could decide if so-called 'abortion pill reversal' is free speech — or false advertising.
How California's primary election reflects the perils facing the national Democratic Party
Low turnout among young and non-white voters in California signals that Democrats should focus on organizing to beat Republicans nationally.
How California's midterm election could shape national political conflicts
In some congressional races and key battles over ballot issues, California Democrats' left-leaning wing and its more centrist forces are clashing.
New laws make incremental tweaks to California’s mental health court, while bigger changes nixed
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills Sunday designed to help his mental health court reach more vulnerable Californians. But two other bills that would have made much bigger, and more controversial, changes to the program died without ever making it to his desk. […]
Drugs for autoimmune diseases are pricey. This bill could switch patients to a cheaper one
Nearly 25,000 Californians could get switched to a cheaper drug next year — unless their doctor objects.
Trump's crackdown on immigrant voting in California is a ploy to influence election
President Donald Trump wants California to segregate 20,000 ballots, claiming they may come from noncitizens. Federal officers charged 28 suspects with voter fraud this week.
LA County says a program meant to help people with serious mental illness is gaining traction
Gov. Gavin Newsom's mental health court is gaining more participants in Los Angeles County. CARE Court treats people with serious mental health conditions.
Doctors, insurers sue Newsom over health insurance premium increases
California lawmakers passed a healthcare tax in June that could increase premiums by $100 annually, but groups representing doctors and insurers say it violates the law.
One area Democrats, GOP agree: California needs a larger rainy day fund
The state’s boom-and-bust economy creates budget volatility. Prop. 2 would expand the state’s reserves, lessening the need to chop costs.
What bills did Gavin Newsom sign into law — or veto — in his final year leading California?
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills in his final year leading the state. They include new laws on voting, immigration, data centers and insurance.
Newsom's populist act: Oppose state billionaire tax, embrace federal one
Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the California wealth tax measure and supports one nationally. But there’s another tax-the-rich measure on the state ballot.
Calmatters: Californias Healthcare Affordability Office Claims Power To Punish Overspending Hospitals
CalMatters
‘Borders on the absurd.’ California fights Trump lawsuit to set aside 20,000 ballots
California is trying to block the Trump administration's voter lawsuit. Here’s what the attorney general said in a court filing.
Should California backfill science funding Trump cut? Voters could decide in 2028
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A California science bond measure to counter the Trump administration’s research cuts is back from the dead after state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a deal last week to place the $7.5 billion request to voters on the March 2028 ballot. Senate […]
Trump’s attacks on California elections endanger democracy, repeating a pattern
Republicans questioned elections before reforms made redistricting nonpartisan. Now they accuse California of letting noncitizens vote.
Would-be Pelosi successors debate who’s more progressive in San Francisco congressional race
In the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi, the candidates clashed over who will be most aggressive in regulating AI and who is closest to organized labor
How Silicon Valley used Main Street’s outrage against California privacy law
New changes to the California Internet Privacy Act promise to stop abusive wiretapping suits. They also quietly shield Big Tech from lawsuits.
Proposition 44 wrongly squeezes politics between California patients and their healthcare
Community clinics in California do not meet the arbitrary standards Proposition 44 would create, jeopardizing healthcare services statewide.
Even blue California wants lower taxes and smaller government
A new survey of Californians’ political views shows the Democrats are still dominant, but a majority of voters wants lower taxes and smaller government.
Californians are in a sour mood but don't want to change the political status quo
Californians are dissatisfied with the present and sour on the future, but the Democratic Party can expect to maintain its hegemony.
More girls are harming themselves. Only some show up in the ER
Emergency room visits connected to self-harm climbed through 2021, and the numbers remain elevated above pandemic-levels in California even as other indicators of mental distress have declined.
Newsom vetoes insurance-claim bills: Is it ‘petty’ politics?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills that would have helped improve the insurance-claims process for consumers but signed one that also addresses claims-related issues, leaving Los Angeles County fire survivors and others wondering whether the vetoes were retaliatory. One bill, Senate Bill 877, […]
Can AI solve our mental health access problem?
Last week I asked you what worries you most about AI in health. It was close, but your top answer was “AI giving bad health advice.” Last week’s poll results: You’re in good company. This concern was top of mind at a conference I joined at Stanford last week, where researchers, clinicians, and people who build AI systems spent a day debating trust and safety in health AI. Stepping back, I’m also hearing your emerging concerns about AI’s impact on our well-being generally. I see this as a matter of public health, and we’ll take it in pieces as we learn together. Today we’ll focus on AI chatbots used for therapy for mental health. Early this month, Governor Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 903, California’s most ambitious attempt to regulate AI use for mental health. It’s at the center of active debate, and raises the questions patients, family members, citizens, and voters will face as AI moves deeper into health care. Let’s work through it. What is “AI-based therapy”? It’s really two things: purpose-built mental health apps designed to deliver structured support, and general chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini that people increasingly use for emotional support—even if they weren’t built for it. Spoiler alert: I don’t know whether the shift toward AI therapy is good or bad. The evidence isn’t there yet. But I do know it’s already happening, and I have some ideas about how we can roll it out with safety in mind. The therapy dilemma, in a nutshell Mental health challenges are common, and strain health and well-being across populations. Therapy (interactive dialogue with a trained, empathetic practitioner) helps many people heal. The demand for licensed therapists far exceeds the supply in California, and AI-based therapy can narrow that gap. AI-based therapy remains novel, unproven, and not well tested. Right off the bat, we can see we’re dealing with trade-offs here. Since the main driver of demand for therapy from a robot is lack of access to therapy from a human, we’ll start there. It’s too hard to find and afford a human therapist California is short roughly 55,000 licensed, non-prescribing therapists and counselors, about 40% of what we need. Psychiatrists, who rely on talk therapy as a complement to prescribed medications, are even more scarce. Eight counties have none, and density ranges from 1.7 per 100,000 residents in San Benito County, to 68.1 in Marin County. My wife is a psychiatrist in Marin, and even here access is tight. If it’s hard in the best-supplied county, imagine rural Sierra County, or the San Joaquin Valley. In 2024, more than half of Californians who tried to make a mental health appointment struggled to find a provider who took their insurance, compared with 14% for physical health care. When Senate staff posed as “secret shopper” patients and called 120 mental health providers in Medicare Advantage networks, they landed an appointment less than once for every five tries. Insurers pay behavioral health clinicians about 22% less than medical and surgical clinicians for comparable office visits. On top of that, billing denials and prior authorizations hit hardest at the solo and small practices common in mental health. Psychiatrists opt out of Medicare at the highest rate of any specialty. In many places, a cash practice for therapy fills quickly with patients paying $250 or more an hour, with no insurance paperwork at all. Families who can pay cash find providers more easily. Those who rely on insurance, including Medi-Cal enrollees, older adults, rural residents, and non-English speakers, compete for what’s left. So we can’t pretend the human system works, and we can’t blame people for turning to AI for support when they’re in distress. AI is filling the gap It’s estimated that roughly a quarter of AI users use it for mental health support. If you have internet, it’s available 24/7, it’s cheap, and it speaks your language. Uninsured adults are about twice as likely as insured adults to do it (30% vs. 14%). It feels anonymous in ways that may enable people to ask things they’re unsure or embarrassed about. The largely hidden, personal use makes it hard to study whether it’s actually helping people with their mental health issues, but researchers are trying. Does AI therapy work? A 2026 analysis of nearly 40 randomized trials found chatbots showed a real but small reduction in depression symptoms. But most of these trials were compared to an alternative of no therapy, not a human therapist. So the benefit of AI therapy is probably real, but modest, and mostly untested against the alternative of human contact. We need more studies. Serious concerns OpenAI’s own estimate is that more than a million ChatGPT users each week show signs of suicidal planning or intent. These are high stakes encounters, and AI doesn’t always get it right. That’s partly because a chatbot can sound like a therapist, but it has no license, no duty of care, and it’s not clear who to hold accountable when it gets things wrong. AI is also designed to help users in whatever task they’re seeking to accomplish. People may feel like they’re getting therapy, but they’re mainly getting a convincing conversation. It’s easy for an AI companion to wander into gray areas, like playing along with “creative writing” that may be about the user’s own suicidal intent. Courts are driving safety conversations A wave of lawsuits have been filed on behalf of families claiming that chatbots pushed people they loved toward self-harm, including teens who died by suicide. The first settlements came this year. OpenAI is headquartered in San Francisco, and dozens of cases alleging that ChatGPT drove users to suicide or self-harm are now before a San Francisco judge. Character.ai has filed for bankruptcy after several states brought lawsuits accusing the chatbot of pushing dangerous content to kids. But the technology seems to be improving. Last month, an independent evaluation found that newer AI models “almost never endorse suicide.” That’s progress, but our societal appetite for even one preventable death is very low. So how do we move forward? Finding a middle ground Earlier this month the governor vetoed Senate Bill 903, a bill designed to place guardrails on the use of AI for therapy. The bill would have prohibited any AI-based platform from being advertised as psychotherapy, and would have required a licensed professional to review and approve each encounter where AI was used to support therapeutic decisions. Newsom called it overly broad, since even routine screening questions would have needed clinician sign-off. Knowing we’re already short on mental health providers, requiring human review of AI encounters may not relieve our access problems. Still, the answer isn’t no oversight. Here’s one feasible short term solution. Rather than reviewing each encounter, a licensed clinician can design the guardrails: what counts as a crisis, what triggers an immediate handoff to a human, and what gets sampled for audit each month. The AI runs inside that structure. Conversations get checked, failures get reported, and a real clinician owns the framework. Medicine already has models to learn from. The FDA process for rolling out newly approved medications is an example. After a product reaches patients, we keep watching for adverse events. Patient-facing AI needs the same “digital pharmacovigilance”: systematic tracking of harms, near misses, and the types of groups that get hurt and why. It’s also critical that users know that they can reach a human if they’re in crisis. Most chatbots now include messages like these: Bottom line The rush to use unproven AI tools for mental health support is mostly a workaround, a sign of a health system people can’t get into. We need better access to proven care from licensed clinicians. That takes reimbursement that makes accepting insurance viable, and a bigger workforce. But, built and tested well, AI could be part of the answer. It could be the 2 a.m. check-in when no one else is awake, or a way for patients to practice skills their therapist taught them. It could be the first step to get someone the right level of care, and take paperwork off clinicians’ plates so they spend more time with patients. None of this is simple. The SB 903 veto doesn’t end the debate, and the legislature will be back. In the meantime, those of us using these tools need to stay informed, ask hard questions, and hold the companies building them accountable. I’ll try to do my part, and we’ll keep learning together. Love,Matt P.S. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988- you’ll reach a real person— or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7. Dr. Matt Willis is the author of Your Local Epidemiologist in California. A California native, he’s served as a primary care physician, CDC epidemiologist, and public health officer for Marin County, where he guided the pandemic response. He lives in Marin with his family and their dogs, Teddy and Ramona. Thank you Cynthia He, MD, PhD, and Parnika Saxena, MD, for their guidance in preparing this article. Cynthia works in an outpatient mental health clinic, treating patients who have Medi-Cal or, sometimes, no insurance. Parnika works in an inpatient psychiatric unit, treating patients with public or private insurance or self-pay ability. All opinions are their own and do not represent their employers.
Therapy in a tent: The healthcare many homeless Californians need but aren’t getting
Homeless Californians suffer from depression, anxiety and PTSD at high rates; street therapy can be life changing, but access is limited.
5 tax measures are on the California ballot. Here’s how to make sense of them all
California voters haven’t had to make so many decisions about tax policy at the ballot since 1994. Our analysis shows voters to reject new taxes.