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Kaiser Permanente Northern California received a five-star rating for providing quality clinical care and behavioral and mental health care in the annual Health Care Quality Report Card from California’s Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA).

Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California and Southern California health plans are the only two in the state to receive OPA’s highest rating – five stars – for quality of medical care. For the fourth year in a row, Kaiser Permanente Northern and Southern California health plans also are the only plans in the state to achieve five stars for clinical effectiveness in behavioral and mental health care.

The 2022-23 report card provides California consumers with side-by-side comparisons of the 16 largest HMOs and PPOs in the state. The report card rates health plans on national standard-of-care measures that involve treatment and prevention of a range of conditions that have significant implications for personal health.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California was also rated four out of five stars from patients who rated their overall experience.

“Kaiser Permanente remains committed to providing our patients, members and the communities we serve with the highest quality of care in the state of California,” said Carrie Owen Plietz, FACHE, president of Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California region. “We are proud to be recognized for consistently delivering excellence across specialty care areas, including the mental health, physical and emotional health care we provide to our patients every day.”

Kaiser Permanente Northern California also received five stars for preventive screenings, diabetes, heart and maternity care, and for providing appropriate tests, treatments and procedures.

“These ratings once again reflect the dedication and expertise of our physicians, nurses and staff, who work diligently to deliver exceptional care experiences to our patients and members,” said Richard S. Isaacs, MD, FACS, chief executive officer and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group. “We appreciate the widespread recognition we receive, but we’re particularly proud of what these ratings mean in terms of the positive and often life-changing impact we’re having on the health and well-being of our patients and their loved ones.”

The results from OPA concur with the recent Covered California ratings which recognized Kaiser Permanente as the only health plan in the state to receive a five-star “Summary Quality Rating.”

Covered California — the state’s marketplace for the Affordable Care Act — also gave Kaiser Permanente five stars for “Getting the Right Care” a measure of care that is given compared with the national standards for care and treatments proven to help patients.

Kaiser Permanente is also the only Medicare health plan in California to receive a five-star rating, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2023 Medicare Star Ratings.

Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of its members and the communities it serves. The organization currently serves 12.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. To learn more, visit http://about.kaiserpermanente.org

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now accepting applications for the Vamos A Pescar community grant program for fishing programs, classes and activities committed to educating and engaging diverse, multi-generational, bi/multi-lingual participants new to fishing, boating and aquatic stewardship in California. The Vamos A Pescar grant program is part of CDFW’s ongoing angler recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) efforts to decrease barriers to participation and increase awareness and support for conservation activities across the state, like fishing.

To apply for funding, programs must be:

• Ethnically inclusive. Events must be open to families of all races and ethnicities with Spanish-English bilingual instruction, materials and outreach.

• Family focused. Participation across multiple generations and genders.

• Multiple opportunities. Focus should be placed on providing multiple fishing opportunities to the same audience.

• Virtual learning compatible. Programs willing to use both in-person and virtual platforms.

• Stewardship. Programs should promote good stewardship toward California’s aquatic resources and include information on angler funded conservation projects, like those paid for by the Sport Fish Restoration Act.

• Measurable goals. Programs must include ways to measure goals and outcomes and incorporate lessons learned.

• An official 501(c)(3) organization.

Vamos A Pescar is part of Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s (RBFF) Hispanic initiative which is supported by the George H. W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Education Fund. To further the reach and facilitate partnerships at the local level, funds are provided for state agencies to match and sub-grant to local 501(c)(3) organizations. With the help of donations from companies and organizations, this fund has continued to grow and expand nationally to keep future generations educated about the joys of fishing and boating and the importance of conservation. CDFW utilizes funding from the Sport Fish Restoration Act and their angler generated dollars to match RBFF’s contribution to California organizations chosen to carry out the mission and work of the Vamos A Pescar Grant Program.

Interested organizations should review the RBFF George H. W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Grant Guidelines and the CDFW grant agreement template. To apply, organizations will need to complete the CDFW grant application and the RBFF George H. W. Bush Vamos A Pescar application and send them via email to Taylor.Williams@wildlife.ca.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2022.

California-based proposals will be ranked by CDFW and submitted to RBFF for national review by their advisory board. The advisory board will choose the final grant recipients by mid-January 2023 and CDFW will notify California recipients by the end of January or shortly after. Final decisions on the program are subject to the availability of state matching funds.

According to Bloomberg, California is poised to overtake Germany as the world’s fourth largest economy, continuing to outperform the nation and other countries in GDP growth, companies’ market value, renewable energy and more.

“While critics often say California’s best days are behind us, reality proves otherwise – our economic growth and job gains continue to fuel the nation’s economy,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “California’s values and entrepreneurial spirit have powered this ascent to becoming the fourth biggest economy in the world, and we’ll continue doubling down on industries of the future, like renewables and clean energy. I feel tremendous pride in California’s resilience, leadership, and our formula for success.”

Here are some of the top takeaways from Bloomberg’s data:

California outperforms the US and the rest of the world across many industries. That’s especially relevant with renewable energy, the fastest-growing business in California.

California’s trajectory is most transparent in the growing divergence between its 379 companies with a market value of at least $1 billion.

California technology hardware, media and software saw sales increase 63 percent, 95 percent and 115 percent the past three years, boosting market valuations by 184 percent, 54 percent and 58 percent.

Job creation is a particularly strong area, with unemployment falling to 3.9 percent in July, the lowest since data was compiled in 1976 … California’s joblessness dipped below Texas.

As noted by Bloomberg, renewable energy has become California’s fastest-growing business. Governor Newsom has doubled down on clean energy and zero-emission vehicles, implementing a $10 billion package to make it more affordable for Californians to buy ZEVs while building out the state’s charging infrastructure. California now has six times more clean energy jobs than fossil fuel jobs, and ZEVs have become one of the state’s top exports.

California’s economy has proven relatively resilient, first through the pandemic and now through the current period of elevated inflation. So much so, that the Golden State’s gross domestic product is poised to overtake Germany’s as the fourth largest in the world after the US, China and Japan. It had already leapfrogged Brazil (No. 7) and France (No. 6) in 2015 and supplanted the UK (No. 5) in 2017. Although many of California’s current figures won’t be published until 2023, estimates suggest the state may have already caught Germany, with at least one forecast implying California is ahead by $72 billion when considering the state’s recent growth rate.

COLUMBIA — Sierra Rep Theatre is bringing back their original holiday drama, The Christmas Foundling, playing Nov. 19 through Dec. 18 at the Fallon House Theatre in Columbia State Historic Park.

Created specifically for the historic Fallon House Theatre, the show charmed audiences when it debuted in 2001, then again in 2003 and 2011, drawing some of the largest crowds SRT had seen for a non-musical production.

Emmy Award-winning playwright Norman Allen penned the story of young Tom, a boy born and orphaned on Christmas Eve at the remote cabin of two Gold Rush miners — Hoke and Old Jake.

They take Tom in and over the years the lad binds a loose-knit group of loners and misfits together into a family.

But one night that all changes with the arrival of a Boston woman who is searching for lost family members and all those who love the boy must come to grips with difficult questions about his future. Allen specializes in writing historical plays. His work on the East Coast has earned him nationally recognized honors, including the Charles MacArthur Award, the Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play and an Emmy for a Public Broadcasting System television documentary.

For Foundling, he took the Bret Harte story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," as his inspiration, then moved the tale to 10 years later.

The production is directed by Scott Viets. Scenic design by David Goldstein, costume design by Diana Newington, lighting design by Jonnie Painter, sound design by Tatiana Covington-Parra, hair and make-up design by Brenda O’Brien, arrangements and accompaniment by John Jay Espino, and props by Alicia Dooley. The dialect coach is Kimily Conkle, and the stage manager is Joanna Hobbs.

“I’ve admired this show for many, many years,” says Viets. “It has been a pleasure to explore it as a director with this exceptional cast. This is a new production of an SRT favorite but there are still touchstones that harken back to our original productions. I’ve been looking forward to this project all year and it does not disappoint.”

The Foundling cast includes Gary Holman and Ty Smith, reprising their roles and Hoke and Old Jake.

The production also stars a cast of SRT favorites: Courtney Glass, Matt Alpert, Gabriel Rodrigues, Drew Boudreau, and Asher Berg as Tom. The understudies are John Jay Espino, Laurie Strawn, and Kason Zenger.

The show opens Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. and will be followed by an Opening Night Celebration.

Regular performance times are Wednesdays at noon, Thursdays at 2 p.m., Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Dec 18.

No show on Thursday, Nov. 24; added show at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25.

SRT is also presenting Elf The Musical at the East Sonora Theatre through Dec 18.

For more information about Sierra Repertory Theatre, visit www.SierraRep.org or call the Box Office at (209) 532-3120. Follow Sierra Repertory Theatre on Instagram at @SierraRep; and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SierraRep.

SRT operates out of two theaters located in East Sonora and in Historic Columbia State Park in Northern California.

The East Sonora Theatre is located at 13891 Mono Way, Sonora. The Historic Fallon House Theatre is located at 11175 Washington St. in Columbia. Both theaters are air-conditioned and ADA accessible.

Taking its “10 Years Strong” campaign to the Bay Area earlier this month, Covered California celebrated a decade of providing quality health insurance plans to people across the state. Over the past 10 years, Covered California has provided access to health insurance for millions of Californians and helped reduce the state’s uninsured rate to a historic low.

“Covered California is ‘10 Years Strong,’ celebrating a decade of expanding access to quality, affordable health care for millions of people throughout the state,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “Open enrollment is here and now is the time to sign up for quality health insurance coverage through Covered California that will protect you and your family.”

The open-enrollment period begins with a record-high 1.7 million people enrolled in Covered California. The increased enrollment has been driven by the increased financial help first made available through the American Rescue Plan, and extended under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Dr. Mark Ghaly – the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and Covered California Board Chair – also joined in hailing the importance of the increased financial help that will be available to consumers throughout 2023.

“Millions of Californians now have access to affordable health coverage and now is the time to go sign up for health insurance to keep yourself and your family healthy,” said Newsom. “We won’t stop until every Californian – regardless of income or immigration status – has the health insurance they need and deserve.”

“Californians continue to benefit from the financial help and quality health coverage that Covered California offers and now is the time for those who need health insurance coverage to sign up,” Ghaly said. “Together we are increasing access to care by making health insurance coverage more affordable for Californians in every corner of our state.”

Covered California’s “10 Year’s Strong” campaign will highlight the progress made in expanding health care access by increasing the number of people with health insurance in every region over the past decade. It will also showcase continuing efforts to reach into every community in the state to make sure all Californians have access to quality health care.

Since Covered California’s first open-enrollment period in 2013, federal data shows that California’s uninsured rate fell from 17.2 percent to a record low 7.0 percent in 2021, which is the largest percentage point drop for any state in the nation over this time period.

Since first offering coverage, more than 5.2 million Californians have received health insurance coverage through Covered California for at least one month. Covered California’s has seen its overall enrollment grow by more than 40 percent.

“Covered California enters its 10th open enrollment with a proven history of being a critical resource for Californians,” Altman said. “We have opened the doors of quality health care to millions of Californians, but we still have more work to do – work that is happening now.”

New data shows that there are more than 1 million uninsured Californians who are eligible for financial help to bring the cost of coverage within reach.

Of the 1 million uninsured Californians, at least 55 percent – or about 568,000 people – could get quality coverage through Covered California or Medi-Cal at no cost. The remaining 471,000 uninsured Californians are eligible for significant financial help that will lower the cost of their monthly health insurance premiums.

Right now, 90 percent of Covered California’s enrollees qualify for financial help, and thanks to the increased and expanded financial help made available through the American Rescue Plan and extended through the Inflation Reduction Act, those consumers are saving an average of $475 per month, or an average of 80 percent of their monthly health insurance premium.

“Regardless of your income, if you need health insurance or if you’re covered directly through a health insurance company, come to Covered California to see if you can get financial help to make your insurance more affordable,” Altman said. “The increased and expanded financial help that was extended by the Inflation Reduction Act is changing lives by helping more Californians get covered and stay covered.”

Currently, two-thirds of Covered California’s consumers are eligible for comprehensive health insurance coverage at a cost of $10 or less per month.

Consumers can discover their options by visiting CoveredCA.com, where they can easily find out if they qualify for financial help and see the coverage options in their area.

All they need to do is enter their household income, ZIP code, household size and the number of people who need coverage and their ages into the calculator on Covered California’s homepage.

Open enrollment began on Nov. 1 and is the one time of the year when eligible people cannot be turned away from coverage.

Covered California is the state’s health insurance marketplace, where Californians can find affordable, high-quality insurance from top insurance companies. Covered California is the only place where individuals who qualify can get financial assistance on a sliding scale to reduce premium costs. Consumers can then compare health insurance plans and choose the plan that works best for their health needs and budget. Depending on their income, some consumers may qualify for the low-cost or no-cost Medi-Cal program.

Covered California is an independent part of the state government whose job is to make the health insurance marketplace work for California’s consumers. It is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the governor and the legislature. For more information about Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.