So, she was relieved when a mobile street medicine van from St. John’s Community Health pulled up near her encampment last month. Most of an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue generated would be used to protect safety-net health care at community clinics, hospitals, and schools. Advocates and health care experts say finding new revenue is the only way to avoid a crisis in California’s health care system. “This new reality is that we have to do our work with less money going into the future,” said Hector Flores, president-elect of the Los Angeles County Medical Association. Last month, for example, L.A. County’s Department of Public Health announced it was closing seven clinics due to $50 million in federal, state, and local funding cuts.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 16, 2026 09:56 UTC