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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President “Trump had a particularly significant impact on the 9th Circuit” 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’s 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. -
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. -
Kamala Harris has a long record of supporting abortion rights in California. In one case, she launched an investigation into an anti-abortion group that published secretly recorded interviews with Planned Parenthood leaders. -
The health care industry put a measure on the November ballot that would raise more money for Medi-Cal and block lawmakers from spending it on general government services. Billions of dollars are on the line. -
California has greatly expanded protections for abortion care since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But enforcing the laws can be complicated, and some providers are confused about what’s required of them. -
Medication abortion will remain widely available to Californians after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug.
