For Californians Drowning in Healthcare Costs, Governor’s Race Offers Few Answers By Christine Mai-Duc Oct. 30, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/elections/california-healthcare-costs-affordability-debt-governor-race-becerra-hilton/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_r8XF7eZFtLcElBdj_dkzYa2Sd13ACV94DZVY_MAddDn1y0C4NjypEPrbKU1DqYK5dmLa1Kc4xToNQfqt7CSpyxhtGKQ&_hsmi=446704312&utm_content=446704312&utm_source=hs_email KFF Health News: For Californians Drowning In Healthcare Costs, Governor’s Race Offers Few Answers When Ashley Porter began slurring her speech one October day four years ago, doctors suspected a stroke. A spinal tap, an MRI, dozens of blood draws, another MRI, and a night spent at the hospital were followed, finally, by an answer: Porter had multiple sclerosis. Her shock turned to outrage, she said, when she received the roughly $180,000 hospital bill, even though insurance covered most of it. (Mai-Duc, 10/30)