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SENATE REPUBLICANS DEMAND ANSWERS FOR HEARING AID PROGRAM FAILURE
Fresh off of a CalMatters report finding that the state’s Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Program — intended to provide hearing aids to 2,300 children in need — has provided just 39 thus far, Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk and members of his caucus have penned a letter to Michelle Baass, director of the California Department of Health Care Services, demanding to know why.
“It strains belief that, after a year of operation, this program has only assisted a fraction of those estimated to be eligible, and without explanation,” the letter reads in part.
According to CalMatters, parents have complained that the application process is cumbersome, while doctors say that the state is slow to reimburse them for the aids, if it does so at all.
“We do not doubt that you know providing hearing aids to children so they can better function at school and home is a worthy cause. But if the state promises hearing aids to children, it must do better than reaching less than 2% of that goal,” the letter concludes.
The letter is signed by all nine members of the Senate Republican Caucus.
NEWSOM NAMES NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SECRETARY
The California Environmental Protection Agency could soon have a new leader: Amelia Yana Garcia Gonzalez, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom has named to replace outgoing Secretary Jared Blumenfeld, who is stepping down in September.
“Yana’s deep connection...
(JNS) The reported purchase by an Israeli entrepreneur of roughly 70% of the homes in the deserted village of Trozena, Cyprus, has triggered a wave of false rumors and accusations, even as the buy...