Kristen Hwang

As he lay tethered to a hospital bed by tubes and wires, Joshua Saeta told his sister his stomach hurt so badly he would take a knife and cut it open to relieve the pressure if he could.

California's emergency stockpile of abortion pills is totally depleted. But after Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court hearing over whether to restrict medication abortion, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office says he's still deciding whether a resupply is necessary.

An emergency trip to the hospital turned disastrous for a Los Angeles-area family when Joshua Saeta’s condition deteriorated, leaving him permanently incapacitated. In a lawsuit, the family says nurses later told them the hospital was dangerously understaffed.

In some California hospitals, early-career doctors make as little as $16 per hour working 80-hour weeks . It's training, known as residency, that every board-certified doctor must complete.

In just the first few months of 2024, four California hospitals have closed or announced plans to close their maternity wards.

Assemblymember Akilah Weber of La Mesa and another lawmaker have introduced bills to slow maternity ward closures after a CalMatters investigation found nearly 50 hospitals had ended labor and delivery services between 2012 and 2023.

Medical insurance delays can keep someone in a hospital bed much longer than they need to be waiting for after-care services like home health care.

You won't notice it right away, but a new California state agency took a major step this week toward reining in the seemingly uncontrollable costs of health care

California’s Office of Health Care Affordability handed down a regulation that aims to limit rising health care costs by capping industry spending increases. Here, a nurse checks on a patient in the emergency room unit of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister on March 30, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

March 20, 2024 Sarah Jimenez Experts testified that a more diverse and representative health workforce will improve patients' access to high-quality care.