Ana B. Ibarra
CalMatters ReporterAna is a Sacramento-based health reporter. She joined CalMatters in 2020 after four years at Kaiser Health News, where she covered California health care and policy. She started her reporting career at McClatchy’s Merced Sun-Star. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and many other state and national news outlets.
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Low-income patients who need specialized cancer treatment often struggle to get it. Advocates say a new law is a small step toward improving services for those patients. -
Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed a handful of California cities and counties to operate supervised drug injection sites. In his veto message, he said he’s concerned these sites could result in unintended consequences. -
People with costly medical needs who make more than the income limit to qualify for free Medi-Cal may still access the program by paying a share of cost, but it’s often unaffordable. -
Gaps in COVID vaccination rates among the state’s Medi-Cal population persist. Five Medi-Cal plans still have vaccination rates under 50%. -
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is pushing a first-in-the-nation plan for California to partner with a drugmaker to produce cheaper insulin. It’s one of many proposed state and federal remedies to soaring insulin costs. -
The CDC said half of Californians live in high-risk counties. But the agency apparently relied on outdated numbers of COVID infections and patients. Newer data indicates only 19 counties are in the CDC’s riskiest category. -
Many working undocumented immigrants won’t qualify for state health insurance even if they don’t earn a living wage. That leaves them with few viable options for coverage. -
The answer is no in many parts of California. Eighteen counties, mostly rural ones, have more hospitalized COVID-19 patients today than a year ago. -
Experts hope continued masking will reduce this season’s dual-threat of COVID and flu. -
More than 5,300 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in California on Sunday, almost twice the number two weeks earlier.
