LOS ANGELES — At Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, patients on gurneys line the hallways of the emergency department waiting for care, and overflow mental health patients are consigned to outdoor tents.
The 152-bed hospital, which sits on a sprawling medical campus close to the predominantly Latino and Black neighborhood of Watts, is struggling for financial stability. Its patients are poorer and sicker than average, many of them are uninsured, and three-quarters of MLK’s patient care revenue comes from Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the Medicaid program, which pays low rates. For hospitals statewide, by comparison, less than one-third of patient revenue comes from Medi-Cal.
And MLK Community Healthcare, which comprises the hospital and two nearby clinics, is independent, so it cannot fall back on a larger chain to absorb some of the financial pressure.
Similar problems plague hundreds of financially vulnerable hospitals around the country, in rural and urban areas. And their financial woes are about to get worse.
The Republican budget measure known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump last July, is expected to cut federal Medicaid spending by $911 billion over 10 years. And it could contribute to an increase of more than 14 million in the number of uninsured people, many of whom will go to already crowded emergency rooms to get care they can’t pay for.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who campaigned on single-payer, has called healthcare a human right. In practice, however, the potential presidential candidate emphasizes safety net services, from expanding coverage to immigrants to constructing behavioral health supports, often for those experiencing homelessness. Read the full story.
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The Foster City company is one of the Bay Area’s most prominent biotech firms, with a large local workforce and a global business built around treatments for HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer. (Vaziri, 5/5)
A UCSF pediatric housing site provides services and a temporary home for families whose children are receiving critical care at UCSF for everything from cancer to fetal heart conditions. (Gurevich, 5/4)
Democrat Xavier Becerra is getting serious about tech policy after catapulting into the upper echelon of California’s gubernatorial field. The former Health and Human Services secretary on Monday unveiled an 11-point plan. (Katzenberger and Mui, 5/4)
A North Highlands site, years in the making, could serve 350 people, but it’s still not open months after the original estimated completion date was set. (Rodriguez, 5/4)
Scolded by a county supervisor, warned by a city mayor and questioned by others about comments he denies making, Doug Becht is in the pressure cooker. (Saavedra, 5/5)
Is the Bay Area's tougher stance on RV living solving homelessness or just moving it? From Oakland to Mountain View, see how new towing policies and parking bans are reshaping city streets. (Stringer, 5/5)
A federal appeals court has restricted access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by blocking the mailing of mifepristone. A look at what that means for telehealth and abortion access nationwide. (Begert, 5/2)
“This ruling will impact all 50 states, including here in California and in New York — states that feel strongly about protecting access,” said Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a public-health scientist at the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health research group at UCSF. “It will likely not be resolved in the near future.” (Gurevich, 5/6)
Free hygiene kits, clean socks, contraceptives and more are now available to those in need at the push of a button thanks to Sonoma County's health supply vending machine program. A new machine was recently installed outside the Petaluma library. (Templeton, 5/5)
Mild weather is fueling an earlier mosquito surge — and officials are racing to stop an invasive species from exploding in parts of the East Bay. (Ho, 5/3)
Coronado was "heaven on earth." Then as much as 30 million gallons a day of Tijuana waste turned its legendary beaches into a no-go zone. (Carlton, 5/4)
On Wednesday, the board of the Bay Area Air District, a government agency based in San Francisco, will discuss softening the first-in-the-nation rules, which are set to take effect Jan. 1, to allow exemptions for low-income residents and for people who would need significant, expensive upgrades to their electrical breaker panels or structural changes in their homes to comply.(Rogers, 5/6)
Imperial County Behavioral Health Services (ICBHS) celebrated Thursday the groundbreaking of the county's new adult residential substance use disorder treatment facility, marking an important milestone in expanding access to critical behavioral health and recovery services for residents across Imperial County. (5/2)
At the end of 2025, the Healdsburg City Council approved 'When the Time Comes,' a new program designed to help residents navigate end-of-life planning and support. (4/29)
The man accused of starting the Palisades fire, one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history, was motivated by a resentment for the rich and viewed Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, as a Robin Hood-like figure, according to court documents detailing evidence gathered by federal prosecutors. In a court brief filed last week, authorities say a forensic review of his computer showed Jonathan Rinderknecht searched “Free Luigi” and “reddit lets kill all billionaires” in December 2024. (Winton, 5/4)
More youth are in custody now than a year ago across the county's juvenile detention system, which critics now describe as destabilized. (Henry, 5/3)
This Week's 'KFF Health News Minute'
This week, we will share tips to make the most out of a high-deductible health plan. Plus, some Make America Healthy Again supporters feel betrayed after the Trump administration gave several large companies an exemption from clean air rules.
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