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.
-
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 But the agency apparently relied on outdated numbers of COVID infections and patients.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. -
In a 7-2 decision in California et al. v. Texas, the Supreme Court voted to reject the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Meaning Obamacare stays. -
Less than half of eligible people in 45 of the state’s 58 counties have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Marin and Alpine rank at the top with 69%, while Lassen, Mariposa and Kings are at the bottom with 25% or less. -
Should doctors warn patients of a policy threat that may not come to pass? That's the question pending, as the Trump administration weighs whether to deny green cards to immigrants on Medicaid.
