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| What Partnership HealthPlan has to say to members about upcoming Medicaid and tax cuts | | Minutes after Congress approved Republicans’ sweeping bill to cut taxes and slash Medicaid, sending the proposal on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law, the parent group of Shasta County's top Medicaid health care provider had a message for the health plan's members.
Hold tight.
Dustin Lyda, spokesperson for Partnership HealthPlan of California, said in a statement that "We don’t expect immediate changes to the program for the majority of Medi-Cal enrollees. Partnership will continue to fully administer the Medi-Cal program until the state provides guidance on any changes."
He called it "critical" that Partnership members keep their Medi-Cal coverage, keep their doctor appointments and continue filling their prescriptions. "Wait until you receive information from the state or Partnership before taking any action on your coverage," Lyda's statement said.
He added: "Many of the proposed Medicaid cuts have different implementation dates and how they will be implemented is not fully known at this time. The specifics of Congress’ cuts to Medicaid have been rapidly evolving, therefore Partnership believes it is prudent to not speculate, but remain engaged, informed, and prepared to make program adjustments once we have clarity and direction from the state."
Also, the company said, people can still apply to Medi-Cal under its current rules. [Article] | | by , Redding Record Searchlight. 2025-07-03 | | | | Major Burbank airline Avelo faces backlash over deportation flights | | Avelo Airlines, Inc., which has launched more than 10,000 flights from Hollywood Burbank Airport since starting operations there in 2021, is drawing fierce criticism from local residents and local Democratic leaders for partnering with ICE. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | How Health Care Remade the U.S. Economy | | For years, the United States labor market has been undergoing a structural transformation. As jobs in manufacturing have receded, slowly but steadily, the health care industry has more than replaced them.
The change has been particularly visible over the past year, during which health care has been responsible for about a third of all employment growth, while other categories, like retail and manufacturing, have stayed essentially flat.
The nation’s corps of nurses, oncologists, lab technicians, anesthesiologists and other health-related workers has been growing steadily, through recession after recession, going from 9 percent of the total workforce in 2000 to 13 percent today. The government expects that trend to continue, as the nation ages and requires more care.
That blistering growth could cool, however, if Republicans in Congress succeed in passing their flagship tax and spending bill. The Senate version is estimated to cut Medicaid, which accounts for about a sixth of total health care spending, by about a trillion dollars over the next decade. About $82 billion would come out of other health care funding, including Medicare and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | LAPD chief instructs officers to verify identity of federal immigration agents | LAist | | Facing concerns from the community about unidentified federal agents and people posing as them, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell has issued new guidance for officers responding to the scene of possible immigration enforcement actions. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | States brace for reversal of Obamacare coverage gains under Trump’s budget bill - Los Angeles Times | | Shorter enrollment periods. More paperwork. Higher premiums.
The sweeping tax and spending bill pushed by President Trump includes provisions that will not only reshape people’s experience with the Affordable Care Act, but also sharply undermine the gains in health insurance coverage associated with it, according to some policy analysts.
The moves affect consumers and have particular resonance for the 19 states (plus Washington, D.C.) that run their own ACA exchanges.
Many of those states fear that the additional red tape — especially requirements that would end automatic reenrollment — would have an outsize impact on their policyholders. That’s because a greater percentage of people in those states use those rollovers versus shopping around each year, something more commonly done by people in states that use the federal healthcare.gov marketplace.
“The federal marketplace always had a message of, ‘Come back in and shop,’ while the state-based markets, on average, have a message of, ‘Hey, here’s what you’re going to have next year, here’s what it will cost; if you like it, you don’t have to do anything,’” said Ellen Montz, who oversaw the federal ACA marketplace under the Biden administration as deputy administrator and director at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. She is now a managing director with the Manatt Health consulting group.
Millions — perhaps up to half of enrollees in some states — may lose or drop coverage as a result of that and other changes in the legislation combined with a new rule from the Trump administration and the likely expiration at year’s end of enhanced premium subsidies put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | | | California consumers gave Trump better economic grades 8 years ago – Daily News | | Today’s anxieties of California consumers surrounding Donald Trump’s economic policies are a sharp contrast to some good vibes they felt eight years ago when he first won the presidency. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2025-07-03 | | | | Before LA immigration raids, CA prisons helped ICE with top targets- CalMatters | | After launching immigration sweeps that sparked weeks of protests in Los Angeles, the Trump administration faulted California policies for protecting those they described as “the worst of the worst,” meaning immigrants convicted of violent crimes. [Article] | | by , CalMatters. 2025-07-03 | | | | CA Budget Provides ‘Lifeline’ to Private Foster Care Agencies | | A $321 billion spending plan approved last week by California Gov. Gavin Newsom provided an emergency bailout to private foster family agencies (FFAs) who have been threatened by the skyrocketing costs of liability insurance. The budget for the next fiscal year also preserves a landmark child welfare reform that would enrich the lives of children growing up in foster care. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | City to host meeting on battery-storage concerns | | After months of requests from residents during public comment, the city of Santa Clarita is holding a public outreach meeting next week to address questions residents might have about the battery energy storage system that’s now online in Canyon Country. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | RFK Jr. is dismantling trust in vaccines, the crown jewel of American public health | | When it comes to vaccines, virtually nothing that comes out of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mouth is true.
The man in charge of the nation’s health and well being is impervious to science, expertise and knowledge. His brand of arrogance is not just dangerous, it is lethal. Undermining trust in vaccines, he will have the blood of children around the world on his hands.
Scratch that.
He already does, as he presides over the second largest measles outbreak in this country since the disease was declared “eliminated” a quarter century ago.
“Vaccines have become a divisive issue in American politics,” Kennedy wrote the other day in a Wall Street Journal essay, “but there is one thing all parties can agree on: The U.S. faces a crisis of public trust.”
The lack of self-awareness would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
Over the past two decades or so, Kennedy has done more than almost any other American to destroy the public’s trust in vaccines and science. And now he’s bemoaning the very thing he has helped cause.
Earlier this month, Kennedy fired the 17 medical and public health experts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — qualified doctors and public health experts — and replaced them with a group of (mostly) anti-vaxxers in order to pursue his relentless, ascientific crusade.
On Thursday, at its first meeting, his newly reconstituted council voted to ban the preservative thimerosal from the few remaining vaccines that contain it, despite many studies showing that thimerosal is safe. On that point, even the Food and Drug Administration website is blunt: “A robust body of peer-reviewed scientific studies conducted in the U.S. and other countries support the safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines.” [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | | | In Los Angeles, Fourth of July feels very different this year | Opinion | | Los Angeles approaches Fourth of July weekend wounded and anxious. [Article] | | by , CalMatters. 2025-07-03 | | | | Federal contractors dumped wildfire asbestos waste at L.A. area landfills - Los Angeles Times | | Federal contractors tasked with clearing ash and debris from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires improperly sent truckloads of asbestos-tainted waste to nonhazardous landfills, including one where workers were not wearing respiratory protection, according to state and local records.
From Feb. 28 to March 24, federal cleanup crews gathered up wreckage from six burned-down homes as part of the wildfire recovery efforts led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its primary contractor Environmental Chemical Corp.
However, prior to reviewing mandated tests for asbestos, crews loaded the fire debris onto dump trucks bound for Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center, and possibly Calabasas Landfill in unincorporated Agoura and Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Los Angeles’ Sylmar neighborhood, according to reports by the California Office of Emergency Services and Ventura County.
Later on, federal contractors learned those tests determined that the fire debris from these homes contained asbestos, a fire-resistant building material made up of durable thread-like fibers that can cause serious lung damage if inhaled.
The incident wasn’t reported to landfill operators or environmental regulators until weeks later in mid-April.
Many Southern California residents and environmental groups had already objected to sending wildfire ash and debris to local landfills that were not designed to handle high levels of contaminants and potentially hazardous waste that are often commingled in wildfire debris. They feared toxic substances — including lead and asbestos — could pose a risk to municipal landfill workers and might even drift into nearby communities as airborne dust. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | | | The Home Depot Boycott Is What You Think It's About, But Also Much More ~ L.A. TACO | | A nationwide boycott of Home Depot is being called for through the month of July, echoing a boycott on Target over the discontinuation of DEI programs that has found the retail chain suffering from diminished foot traffic. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | These LA immigrant rights activists say the FBI is targeting them | | FBI agents arrested a longtime Los Angeles immigrant rights activist this month and seized another organizer’s phone, the latest actions targeting members of Centro CSO, a group whose leaders say they’ve faced federal scrutiny for years. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | Altadena residents are reluctant to sue L.A. County over botched evacuations during Eaton fire. Here's why - Los Angeles Times | | For many residents of west Altadena, it’s hard to shake the feeling that they were victimized twice by the January firestorm that swept into their neighborhood.
Not only were massive swaths of the area destroyed in the blaze, but hundreds were forced to flee in dangerous conditions because evacuation alerts came hours after smoke and flames threatened their community. Many believe the delayed alerts in west Altadena were a key reason all but one of the Eaton fire’s 18 deaths were there.
Revelations about the delay, made by The Times in January, sparked outrage toward Los Angeles County officials, who were tasked with issuing evacuation alerts, and prompted an ongoing independent investigation into what went wrong.
Despite continued community anger and frustration, no one has yet filed suit against the county for the lapse.
Almost a dozen residents told The Times that they were, at one point, considering a legal case against the county over its delayed evacuation alerts, but as the six-month deadline to file such a claim rapidly approached, more and more people abandoned the idea.
Several decided after talking to lawyers that they couldn’t risk jeopardizing any settlement with Southern California Edison, which hundreds of residents already have sued, alleging the utility started the fire and should be held liable — potentially to the tune of $24 billion to $45 billion.
Others worried that legal hurdles could make a court battle unwinnable. Many, such as Heather Morrow, simply realized they didn’t have the time or wherewithal to keep going, as much as they supported the effort. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | | | 'Making America militarized again': Use of military in U.S. erodes democracy, veteran advocates say - Los Angeles Times | | Spouses experiencing health emergencies alone, because their loved ones are serving on the streets of Los Angeles. Troops fatigued by a mission they weren’t prepared for. Children of active-duty troops left without their parents, who were deployed on U.S. soil.
Such incidents are happening because of the Trump administration’s decision to send troops to Los Angeles, said Brandi Jones, organizing director for the Secure Families Initiative, a nonprofit that advocates for military spouses, children and veterans.
“We’ve heard from families who have a concern that what their loved ones have sacrificed and served in protection of the Constitution, and all the rights it guarantees, are really under siege right now in a way they could never have expected,” Jones said Thursday during a virtual news conference.
On the eve of Independence Day, veterans, legal scholars and advocates for active-duty troops warned that sending troops to quell protests in California’s largest city threatens democratic norms. Under a 147-year-old law, federal troops are barred from being used for civilian law enforcement.
Dan Maurer, a retired lieutenant colonel who is now a law professor at Ohio Northern University, described this state of affairs during the news conference as “exactly the situation we fought for independence from,” adding that President Trump is “making America militarized again.”
Though 150 National Guard troops were released from protest duty on Tuesday, according to a news release from U.S Northern Command, around 3,950 remain in Los Angeles alongside 700 Marines, who are protecting federal property from protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | | | Leader of LA County's first homelessness department says 'accountability' is a priority | LAist | | Officials have announced the new leader of the L.A. county's first-ever department on homelessness. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | Social safety net in the US could shrink under bill sent to Trump | AP News | | Supporters of the sweeping tax and spending legislation that Congress has sent to President Donald Trump say the changes to Medicaid, food aid and other programs will encourage personal responsibility and halt those scamming the system.
Critics of the bill, given final congressional approval Thursday, say the requirements will upend lives.
Here’s a look at what people are saying about the bill. [Article] | | by , . 2025-07-03 | | | | Kidnappers or ICE agents? LAPD fields surge in concerned citizen calls - Los Angeles Times | | When a group of armed, masked men was spotted dragging a woman into an SUV in the Fashion District last week, a witness called 911 to report a kidnapping.
But when Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived, instead of making arrests, they formed a line to protect the alleged abductors from an angry crowd of onlookers demanding the woman’s release.
The reported kidnappers, it turned out, were special agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Police Chief Jim McDonnell defended the officers’ response, saying their first responsibility was to keep the peace and that they had no authority to interfere with the federal operation. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | | | Job growth picks up with help from public education hiring - Los Angeles Times | | Job growth exceeded expectations in June as an unusual surge in public education hiring masked a slowdown in employment across the rest of the economy.
Payrolls increased 147,000 last month, driven by a jump in state and local government employment, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Thursday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% as both participation and the number of out-of-work people declined.
Private payrolls rose just 74,000 in June, the least since October and largely due to healthcare. The figures are consistent with sluggish hiring as employers grapple with President Trump’s erratic trade policy and await congressional approval of his signature tax legislation.
“Ignore the boost from education jobs; private demand for labor is slowing,” Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a note. “The tariff tax hike, restrictive monetary policy and worries about a further intensification of the trade war are weighing heavily on labor demand.”
Treasury yields and the dollar rose, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index opened higher as the figures took pressure off the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at the end of this month. Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell has said there is no rush to reduce borrowing costs until there is more clarity about the effect of tariffs on inflation. Price pressures have been subdued this year.
Powell recently told lawmakers that if the labor market were to meaningfully weaken, it would be possible to cut rates sooner than expected.
State government payrolls climbed by the most since the start of 2023, led by education, while employment at local governments also surged. Several economists cast doubt on the strength of the figures, pointing out possible seasonal adjustment issues.
Healthcare payrolls rose 59,000, the least in four months. Employment also moderated in leisure and hospitality, as a 20,000 increase in June followed a downward revision of similar size in May. Payrolls declined in manufacturing, wholesale trade and business services. [Article] | | by , Los Angeles Times. 2025-07-03 | | |
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