Gov. Jerry Brown wants to add millions in new spending on programs to help former inmates stay out of jail—a proposal generating bipartisan praise because of concern they are returning to prison in large numbers. But some say it still isn’t enough.

In recent years, the Sacramento region has seen the rise of businesses offering alternative approaches to health and wellness such as float centers, cryotherapy services and community acupuncture practices.

Yet, one has to wonder: Can the market sustain these types of businesses?

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act. I was on the phone with my dad; we were witnessing history together. Not since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the bill that would eventually become Medicare and Medicaid had we experienced such a monumental healthcare shift.

For almost a decade, David Sypnieski has been working in the ag-tech space, focusing on the production and processing levels of California’s food system. Six years ago, he noticed a major hole in the supply chain: Food companies and growers didn’t have solid, easy-to-access data to help them evolve with the times.

People are genetically engineering their own cells in their kitchens, injecting modified viruses into their bodies and surgically implanting homemade sensors under their skin. The “do-it-yourself” mentality has entered the realm of medicine. And, surprisingly, the FBI supports it.

The most common reason people visit their doctor might surprise you. It’s not back problems, high blood pressure or diabetes. According to a 2013 survey by the Mayo Clinic, the No. 1 reason is skin disorders.

Bennet Omalu is a forensic pathologist who lives comfortably in Sacramento with his wife and two young kids. Chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County and a clinical professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine, his life today contrasts sharply with being a malnourished infant during Nigeria’s Civil War.

Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee on navigating the uncertainty of health insurance. 

The opioid crisis was born in the late 1990s. Pharmaceutical companies said opioids — a class of drugs that produce pleasurable effects and relieve pain — weren’t addicting. Healthcare providers prescribed more of them. Twenty years later, we’re in the throes of an epidemic.

The U.S. retirement age is rising, as the government pushes it higher and workers stay in careers longer.

But lifespans aren’t necessarily extending to offer equal time on the beach.