“No Place to Grow Old”

San Francisco Public Press

President Trump calls it “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but critics say the latest federal budget will slash more than a trillion dollars from Medicaid over the next decade — cutting coverage for an estimated 12 million people. In San Francisco, more than 250,000 residents rely on Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, along with tens of thousands of caregivers who support them. This episode of Civic from the San Francisco Public Press examines how the bill could affect local patients, long-term care workers, and the city’s healthcare safety net — with voices from those fighting to protect services that are essential to survival.

If you’ve experienced issues with Social Security — missed checks, delayed responses, or inaccessible services — you can file a complaint with the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/socialsecurity.

APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:

Kelly Dearman – Executive Director, San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services

Paul Aguilar – Social Security disability beneficiary, long-term HIV survivor

Dr. Monica Gandhi – Professor of Medicine, UCSF; HIV/AIDS specialist

Joanna Parnes – Managing Attorney, Bay Area Legal Aid

Laura Chiera – Director of Legal Services, Legal Assistance to the Elderly, San Francisco

Jacqueline Hopkins – Claims Specialist, Social Security Administration, Richmond office; union representative

Sylvia Norman – President, AFGE Local 3172, SSA workers union, Northern and Central California

About the ‘Silent Killer’ Series

The San Francisco Public Press examined recent efforts to step up diagnosis, vaccination and treatment for hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B affects an estimated 305,000 people in California, with the vast majority of cases affecting people in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Deep racial and cultural disparities in illness caused by the hepatitis B virus have persisted for decades. A cure is in trials, but those inequities, along with federal funding cuts, could hamper its rollout.



This reporting was supported with a California Health Equity Fellowship from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and a grant from the Pulitzer Center.

PART 1: Poorly Tracked Virus Is a ‘Silent Killer’ Affecting Asian Americans Most

PART 2: Stigma, Insufficient Screening Keep Hepatitis B in the Shadows

PART 3: Researchers Seek Hepatitis B Cure as Trump Slashes Health Agency Funding

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Hep B Free

San Francisco's mayor and police department are facing praise and scorn for cracking down on homelessness and visible substance use amidst shelter and treatment bed shortages and jail overcrowding. 

• Join the San Francisco Public Press for a screening of “Stripped for Parts” in San Francisco on Thursday, March 13. Details and tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-stripped-for-parts-american-journalism-on-the-brink-tickets-1250795746749
• Website for the film: https://strippedforpartsfilm.com/Rick Goldsmith’s production company: https://kovnocommunications.org/