California Weekly Roundup: SNAP Work Rules Threaten Access

Plus: How H-1B visa fees will affect rural health care; federal funding for California special needs students; the Bay Area's first "ICE-free Zone"; Oroville Hospital bankruptcy; ketamine use; hepatitis B recommendations; and more

Not a subscriber? Sign Up Wednesday, December 10, 2025 Visit KFF Health News for the latest California headlines California Weekly Roundup THIS WEEK'S FEATURE Even as SNAP Resumes, New Work Rules Threaten Access for Years To Come Free food is distributed last month at Exposition Park in Los Angeles. (MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES) By Renuka Rayasam, Katheryn Houghton and Samantha Liss   Alejandro Santillan-Garcia is worried he's going to lose the aid that helps him buy food. The 20-year-old Austin resident qualified for federal food benefits last year because he aged out of the Texas foster care system, which he entered as an infant.   The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly referred to as food stamps, or SNAP — helps feed 42 million low-income people in the United States. Now, because of changes included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to keep his food benefits Santillan-Garcia might soon have to prove to officials that he's working.   He said he lost his last job for taking time off to go to the doctor for recurrent stomach infections. He doesn't have a car and said he has applied to a grocery store, Walmart, Dollar General, "any place you can think of" that he could walk or ride his bike to. "No job has hired me."   Many adult SNAP recipients under 55 already needed to meet work requirements before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act became law. Now, for the first time, adults ages 55 to 64 and parents whose children are all 14 or older must document 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities per month. The new law also removes exemptions for veterans, homeless people, and former foster care youths, like Santillan-Garcia, that had been in place since 2023.   Sharon Cornu is the executive director at St. Mary's Center, which helps support homeless seniors in Oakland, California. She said the rule changes are sowing distrust. "This is not normal. We are not playing by the regular rules," Cornu said, referring to the federal changes. "This is punitive and mean-spirited."   Read the full story.  More From KFF Health News Rural Health Providers Could Be Collateral Damage From $100K Visa Fee By Arielle Zionts and Phillip Reese Dozens of health care organizations have asked the Trump administration to shield the doctors, nurses, and techs they need to fill shortages from the president's new $100,000 visa fee for skilled foreign workers. So far, there's no sign of a reprieve. Follow us online for more KFF Health News coverage: Top Health Headlines From Around California Federal Funding Cuts and Medicaid CalMatters: California Students With Disabilities Face 'Terrifying' Special Ed Cuts After Trump Changes President Trump's budget includes nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, which funds a wide swath of services to disabled children, including speech, occupational and physical therapy, wheelchairs, in-home aides and medical care. All children with physical, developmental or cognitive disabilities – in California, nearly 1 million – receive at least some services through Medicaid. (Jones, 12/4)   EdSource: California Schools Inch Closer To Rescuing Mental Health Funds Slashed By Trump  The ruling is tempered since the temporary release of the funds doesn't guarantee it will be permanent or timely enough to retain all mental health workers.  (Sanganeria, 12/9)   The (Morgan Hill) Times: Family Health Plan Helps Locals Keep Medi-Cal Coverage Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is partnering with community-based organizations in Santa Clara County to encourage residents to enroll in Medi-Cal, keep their coverage by completing annual renewals and use their benefits before new regulations take effect in 2026. (12/5) Race and Health NBC Los Angeles: Trump Ordered To End Use Of California National Guard In LA  The Trump administration must stop its use of California National Guard members in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Wednesday. (Thanawala and Lloyd, 12/10)   San Francisco Chronicle: Californians Are Being Detained By ICE Despite Being U.S. Citizens. Will It Keep Happening? Cary Lopez Alvarado, a U.S. citizen, was nine months pregnant when, according to her lawyers, federal immigration agents seized her in June in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne. They shoved her onto a parked truck and put shackles under her stomach, her lawyers said. (Egelko, 12/9)   San Francisco Chronicle: This County Created The Bay Area's First 'ICE-Free Zone' Santa Clara County supervisors on Tuesday passed an ordinance that will limit federal immigration officers from carrying out raids on municipal property — creating what was believed to be the Bay Area's first official "ICE-free zone." (Flores, 12/9)   The Orange County Register: Huntington Beach Loses Challenge In Federal Court To State Sanctuary Law A federal judge has dismissed Huntington Beach's lawsuit against the state's landmark sanctuary law, which limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. (Wang, 12/9)   Los Angeles Times: Hate Crimes In L.A. County 'Continue At Record Levels,' Report Finds Hate crimes in Los Angeles County remained near record-high levels in 2024, according to a report released Thursday. (Buchanan, 12/4)   Los Angeles Times: To Protect Underage Farmworkers, California Expands Oversight Of Field Conditions  California officials said they are launching new enforcement actions to protect underage farmworkers. (Lopez, 12/5) Health Industry Chico Enterprise-Record: Financially Beleaguered Oroville Hospital Files For Bankruptcy  A statement said the hospital will "remain open and continue to operate during the Chapter 11 process. Patient care remains our top priority and will be unaffected." (Gottesman, 12/9)   The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Health Care Panel Criticizes County Over Inaction On Providence Plan To Close Pediatric Ward A Sonoma County pediatrics advisory panel has levied its strongest criticism to date of Providence's recent decision to close the inpatient pediatric ward at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. (Espinoza, 12/9)   Santa Monica Daily Press: Sollis Health Opens Expanded Santa Monica Medical Center Sollis Health expands its footprint in Southern California with a cutting-edge concierge medical center in Santa Monica. (Alin, 12/2)   KVPR: How A Kern County Community Is Getting By After Public Health Clinic Closure Months after a public health clinic shut down in the city of Shafter, health officials say they are continuing to weigh options for health services in the community. (Rangel, Rodriguez-Delgado, 12/5)   San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Hospital Plans Security Review After Fatal Social Worker Stabbing Officials announced the review Monday, days after Alberto Rangel was stabbed in front of his co-workers in the hospital's HIV care clinic. (Vainshtein, 12/8)   San Francisco Chronicle: Parents Protest Sutter's Retreat On Gender-Affirming Care For Transgender Teens Sutter Health faces backlash after signaling it will end puberty blockers and hormones for patients under 19 as families protest and seek answers. (Allday, 12/8)   Victorville Daily Press: Victorville Wellness Center's Symba Care Programs Nationally Certified Symba officials have announced that its recuperative care and short-term post-hospitalization programs are nationally certified by the National Institute for Medical Respite Care. (De La Cruz, 12/3)   The San Diego Union-Tribune: UCSD Tool Can Spot More Than 4,000 Drugs, A Boon To Patient Care A new digital library based at UC San Diego aims to massively increase the number of drugs that can be easily detected in samples collected from patients. (Sisson, 12/9) Substance Use Los Angeles Times: Matthew Perry's 'Dr. P' Gets Prison For Supplying Actor With Ketamine Salvador Plasencia, who sold and injected Matthew Perry with ketamine in the weeks leading up to the actor's death in 2023, was sentenced to 30 months after pleading guilty earlier this year. (Mejia and Buchanan, 12/3)   KQED: A Maze Of Clinics: Navigating Ketamine's Rapid Rise  California clinics' doors are flying open, patients are lining up and ketamine is being prescribed off-label for everything from depression to chronic pain. What's missing are clear rules to guide its use. (McClurg, 12/9)   KVPR: Fresno Pivots On Kratom Sales, Allows Natural Leaf But Bans The Plant's Concentrated Derivative Two weeks after giving preliminary approval to a law that would outlaw kratom sales, the Fresno City Council pivoted, giving a final green light to a modified law that restricts, rather than bans, the sale of kratom products to adults. (Sheehan, 12/5) Housing Crisis The Mercury News: After California Lawsuits, Trump Administration Pauses Plan To Divert Billions Of Dollars From Homeless Housing The Trump administration has temporarily paused a plan to divert billions of dollars in homelessness spending away from permanent housing, a move that critics of the plan, including a Silicon Valley congressman, said is a win for local efforts to fight homelessness and prevent formerly unhoused Californians from being forced back to the street. (Varian, 12/9)   The Fresno Bee: Federal Cuts Close Fresno Housing Projects, Placing Dozens At Risk Of Homelessness Two projects providing long-term housing and support services will close next month due to federal funding cuts, leaving around 80 formerly homeless individuals at risk of living on the streets again. (Fannin, 12/9)   The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County To Review Major Leadership Change In Homeless Nonprofit Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will receive recommendations to change Continuum of Care's leadership board. (Hall, 12/8)   Los Angeles Times: L.A. City Council Passes Ordinance To Streamline Affordable Housing  During her first week in office three years ago, Mayor Karen Bass issued a sweeping directive to speed up affordable housing applications. Now, that plan is permanent. (Flemming, 12/9)   Palo Alto Daily Post: Council OKs Vanlording Ban  Palo Alto City Council voted 6-1 Dec. 8 to ban detached trailers and the renting of RVs by so-called "vanlords." (12/8)   San Francisco Examiner: Immigrant Family Trades RV For Apartment In Lurie Buyback First A Colombian immigrant family was the first to participate in San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's large vehicle buyback program, one of his signature initiatives, and trade its RV for an apartment. (Gurevich, 12/9) California Politics Politico: OpenAI Files Its First Ballot Measure On AI In California  OpenAI is diving into California's competitive world of ballot measure politics for the first time to counter another kids' AI safety proposal with its own plan for reining in the very technology it develops. (Katzenberger, 12/9)   San Francisco Chronicle: The Race To Succeed Nancy Pelosi Is Now A Proxy Battle For S.F. Housing Politics Though Congress is not where most Americans look for decisions that shape where they can live, housing is becoming an increasingly potent issue in Washington.  (Morris and Koseff, 12/9)   Politico: Newsom's Favorability Rating Surges In California  An anti-Trump bump is boosting Newsom and California Democrats in the blue state. (White, 12/9) Reproductive Health San Francisco Chronicle: An Influential Anti-Abortion Lawyer Is Targeting A Bay Area Doctor - And California's Shield Laws It's a Texas-to-California abortion case with a Bay Area doctor in the middle and a Gordian knot of a legal question: What happens when states with opposing laws collide in federal court? (Hosseini, 12/4)   San Francisco Chronicle: Woman Gives Birth In Waymo Robotaxi On Way To UCSF A woman en route to a UCSF medical center gave birth inside a Waymo robotaxi on Monday. (Vaziri, 12/9) Public Health San Francisco Chronicle: California Urges Newborn Hepatitis B Shots In Defiance Of Federal Shift Health officials for California and three other West Coast states on Friday said all infants should get vaccinated against hepatitis B vaccine at birth despite a decision by a federal vaccine advisory panel to end the practice. (Ho, 12/5)   San Luis Obispo Tribune: 'Very Contagious' Vomiting Virus Surging In West. How To Stay Safe In California Throughout November, wastewater concentrations of norovirus ticked upward in California, WastewaterSCAN data shows. (Poukish, 12/9)   KQED: After Mushroom Poisonings, California Says 'Don't Forage.' Here's What To Know About Death Caps The California Department of Public Health is urging people to avoid foraging for and eating wild mushrooms this season after 21 people have been hospitalized with severe liver damage. (Wright, 12/9)   The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento-Area Farm Recalls Eggs, Cites Potential For Salmonella Contamination Vega Farms in Dixon filed a recall notice with the California Department of Public Health on Friday for more than 1,500 dozen of its in-shell eggs. (Pedrosa, 12/9)   Santa Monica Daily Press: UCLA Studies Reveal Extent of Air Quality Damage From Los Angeles, California Wildfires Two peer-reviewed studies led by UCLA researchers have documented the severe air quality impacts of recent California wildfires. (Alin, 12/8)   Voice of San Diego: South Bay Has A Gas Problem A year's worth of data shows South Bay residents are constantly exposed to low levels of hydrogen sulfide gas from the polluted Tijuana River that could harm their health in the long run. (Elmer, 12/8) This Week's 'KFF Health News Minute' Immigration enforcement personnel are showing up in hospitals, and road-safety advocates worry regulations aren't keeping up with the popularity of e-bikes.  Listen to Zach Dyer ▶️ KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.   (c) 2025 KFF. All rights reserved.   KFF 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA, 94107, United States Opt out of all KFF emails | Manage subscriptions KFF, 185 Berry Street, Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107, United States Unsubscribe Manage preferences