California plans to increase Medicaid payments to doctors to address doctor shortage.

California plans to increase payments to doctors to encourage them to see more Medicaid patients, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers. The state's Medicaid program currently covers around a third of California's 39 million residents, but previous payments to doctors have not kept up with the increasing number of enrollees. This has led to a shortage of doctors willing to treat Medicaid patients and contributed to the financial struggles of some rural hospitals.