California Briefs: One Fast Charging Station for Every Five Gas Stations, State Reigns in Increasing Health Care Costs

California’s Fast Charging Revolution: One Station for Every Five Gas Stations

SACRAMENTO – Here’s a stat most Californians have likely never heard: for every five gas stations in California, there’s now one electric vehicle fast charging station. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped by a Tesla supercharger during Earth Week to highlight the state’s ongoing efforts to build a bigger and better charging network, as well as Tesla’s recent work to open its fast chargers to non-Tesla vehicles.

Watch the Governor’s video to learn more about California’s work to ensure drivers can reliably charge up no matter where they are.

CALIFORNIA’S ZEV RECORD

Since the Governor’s executive order in 2020 calling for a rule to require all new car sales to be zero-emission by 2035, ZEV sales have risen dramatically in recent years.

105,000 public or shared private electric vehicle chargers have been installed throughout California, which is on top of over 500,000 at-home chargers. The state also recently approved a $1.9 billion plan to build a bigger, better charging network. 25% of all new cars sold in California last year were ZEVs, according to the California Energy Commission or CEC
1,846,874 total ZEV sales to date
34% of new ZEVs sold in the U.S. are sold in California, according to the Veloz EV Market Report
If California were a country, it would rank 4th in EV sales behind China, the U.S. and Germany

 Thousands of dollars in grants and rebates available for low-income Californians (learn more at ClimateAction.ca.gov)

ICYMI: Newsom Administration Votes to Reign in Increasing Health Care Costs

CALIFORNIA— The office of health care affordability’s board voted last week to cap health care cost increases in California – in an effort to rein in increasing health care costs and make critical care more affordable for people.

The 3% cap would be phased in over five years to ensure minimal disruptions and maximum compliance, starting with 3.5% in 2025.

This action is intended to save lives and help people get the preventative care they need to stay healthy in the first place. Too often health care costs drive people away from such care.

The board based the target on the average annual change in median household income in California between 2002 and 2022, which was 3%.  In December, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the cost to practice medicine in the United States would increase 4.6% this year alone. And the money Californians spent on health care went up about 5.4% each year for the past two decades.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Healthcare-Spending-target-CA