What We're Reading: Medicaid in 2020; Dangerous Air Quality; Violence Around Ebola Workers

California Union Looks Ahead to 2020 Ballots to Expand Medicaid

An advocacy project funded by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the California union that provided major funding for successful ballot campaigns to expand Medicaid in 3 red states this year, is looking ahead to 2020, Politico reported. Six remaining states where Medicaid could be expanded through the ballot are Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming. But lawmakers from remaining holdout states said any campaign sponsored by a California union would face skepticism.

Air Quality in Northern California Reaches Dangerous Levels Due to Wildfires

Smoke from the wildfire in Northern California has created dangerous air quality that exceeds pollution levels in China and India, The New York Times reported. For anyone who must go outside, the state public health department recommends P100 masks and N95 respirators, both of which are approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for use by firefighters. Health problems, including asthma, allergies, and other issues, will almost surely rise, researchers warned, as large wildfires become more common due to the effects of climate change.

WHO Pulls Some Workers From Democratic Republic of Congo Because of Violence

The World Health Organization evacuated 16 people working to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following a rebel attack near where they were staying. The Ebola outbreak response, which is made up of more than 200 people, has been struggling because of the violence in the region, STAT reported. As of Saturday there have been 358 confirmed and probable cases in this outbreak, and 213 of those people have died. It is the third largest Ebola outbreak on record and the largest in Congo’s long history with Ebola outbreaks.