California voters will decide on a high-stakes billionaire tax, an $11 billion affordable housing bond and new voter ID requirements.

Ahead of a June 25 deadline, California Democrats are striking deals with interest groups to kick several controversial measures off the November ballot.

Thousands of Kaiser health care workers are on strike to demand better pay and staffing.

Newsom agreed to raise the limit to $130,000 per person in 2022. In 2024, the limit was erased completely. Now Newsom wants to bring back the original limit of $2,000, an amount that was set in 1989. 

Newsom’s Medi-Cal budget plan would shift money for voter-approved increases in doctors’ pay and reproductive care to cover other expenses. State spending on Medi-Cal has more than doubled since 2017 and is now projected to cost $76.8 billion.

To save more than $5 billion, the California governor wants to shut down new enrollment for adults who lack legal status and charge premiums. The Legislature has resisted such changes.

California is spending billions more than expected on Medi-Cal for coverage expansions that benefit immigrant households.

Calls to LGBTQ crisis lines spiked after President Donald Trump’s election. His policies target health care for young transgender people, creating uncertainty for a vulnerable community. A spate of recent policy decisions by the Trump administration targeting transgender youth has led to an escalating mental health crisis among an already vulnerable population, experts and advocates say.

The American Diabetes Association says the delay is hurting diabetics who need a low-cost option for the medicine.

David Daleiden released sensational videos that alleged Planned Parenthood officials were selling fetal remains. The videos triggered multiple investigations in various states that cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing.

More than 50 California hospitals stopped delivering babies in the past decade, limiting maternity care options in both rural and urban communities.

Pharmacy benefit managers attempt to negotiate cost savings for insurers. California is considering new rules that would require them to pass their discounts on to consumers.

Many Californians were undecided heading into Election Day on Gov. Newsom’s Proposition 1, which funds new mental health treatment facilities. As of noon Tuesday with about 5.8 million votes counted, the measure was leading by a margin of 50.3% to 49.7%.

Californians in March will vote on a $6.4 billion bond to build thousands of housing units for people with serious mental health conditions. A 2018 ballot measure made similar promises, but Santa Clara County and the rest of the state are falling short.

Locking up a California state prisoner for one year costs nearly twice as much as tuition at the state’s top private universities. The number surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains high because of inmate medical costs and pay boosts for prison guards and other workers.

Surprise ambulance bills can leave families deeply in debt after a medical emergency. A new state law that forces insurance companies to negotiate payments is expected to save Californians tens of millions of dollars a year.