SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California continues to burnish its reputation as a progressive state for health policy as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills expanding paid sick leave, adding bereavement leave for miscarriages, and boosting wages for health workers.
Newsom blessed a rare agreement between labor and the health industry to gradually phase in a nation-leading $25-an-hour statewide minimum wage for health workers. Estimates based on earlier versions of the bill found it would increase health care costs by billions of dollars each year and put pressure on the state’s Medicaid program to raise reimbursement rates for long-term care to maintain patients’ access to services. Other new laws aim to strengthen reproductive rights, as well as patient protections against errant doctors and pharmacists and surprise ambulance bills.
