Grieving mother advocates for treatment coverage changes

State lawmakers pushing their bills through committee hearings often invite people to testify how their lives have been affected by the issue at hand. Christine Matlock Dougherty made an impression on lawmakers and witnesses recently as she advocated for two health care bills related to insurance coverage. 

As CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener explains, Dougherty’s 23-year-old son, Ryan Matlock, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021 after his insurance plan declined to continue covering his stay at an addiction treatment center.

Dougherty — who is also suing her health plan — traveled over 400 miles from Yucaipa in San Bernardino County to Sacramento on separate occasions to speak on behalf of two proposals that aim to hold health insurance plans more accountable.

One is Assembly Bill 669, which would require health plans to review a patient’s eligibility to stay in substance use treatment no sooner than 28 days from when the provider first approved the treatment; Matlock’s health plan decided it would no longer cover his stay at the treatment facility just three days into his stay.

The other, Senate Bill 363, would require health plans to report data to the state about how often they deny treatment.

Though it’s been five years since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a landmark law requiring health insurance plans to provide enrollees with all medically necessary mental health and addiction treatment, serious shortcomings in behavioral health coverage remain. The Legislature is currently considering a handful of bills to address some of these issues, which include the bills Dougherty is championing. She says pushing for the proposals is what Ryan would have wanted her to do. 

• Dougherty: “It helps me find a reason why it was him.”

Read more here.

After President Donald Trump revealed his federal budget plan last week, advocates are sounding alarm bells over spending cuts that could worsen the state’s housing and homelessness crises, write CalMatters’ Ben Christopher and Marisa Kendall.

Trump’s budget plan guts half of the funding for the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8, which helps low-income tenants with their rent. He is also proposing to cap how long a single person can receive help under the program to two years. 

To save about $5 billion, the administration is proposing to nix funds for local economic development grants, affordable housing developments and local initiatives that aim to speed up housing. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which oversees federal homelessness policy, would be eliminated too. In April all its staff was already put on leave following an executive order.

The federal budget for 2024 was $6.9 trillion, so $5 billion would represent a savings of about 0.07 percent. 

These cuts and others would essentially gut programs that California and its local governments depend on for housing and homelessness services, which serve millions in the state.

• Matt Schwartz, president of the nonprofit California Housing Partnership: “You’d be looking at millions of people out on the street virtually overnight. There’s no way states could maintain the same level of assistance.”

Read more here.

Took a break from the news recently? Didn’t have time to read that 5,000-word investigation? No problem, catch up with CalMatters on the radio! 

• Deadly drivers: More than 40% of California drivers charged with vehicular manslaughter since 2019 still have a valid license. That’s just one of the eye-opening findings in Robert Lewis’ investigation into dangerous drivers who are still behind the wheel. Hear his findings in brief on KQED’s California Report and at length on KQED’s Forum.

• Immigration raid probe: In January Border Patrol agents traveled to Kern County to conduct an immigration sweep that they said targeted criminals. Hear CalMatters’ Sergio Olmos break down this raid on KQED’s California Report and KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcasts. CalMatters also partnered with Evident for a short documentary on this coverage.

• Mental health crisis: If you live in Sacramento County and you call the Sheriff’s Department because your family member is having a mental health crisis, there’s a chance they may not come. A CalMatters investigation by Lee Romney has found that other police agencies across the state are also backing away from mental health crisis calls. Hear Lee dig into this on LAist’s AirTalk. 

Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have filed a lawsuit against Trump’s sweeping tariffs. CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on how the tariffs could harm California’s economy as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.