Sacramento Topics

Bill Collins gets some fresh air in his backyard, joined by sister Marilyn Wright. Collins, who is jobless and doesn't have health insurance, is unsure how he's going to pay his medical bills, which he says will total thousands of dollars.

C-SPAN Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown law student, testifies last month before members of Congress in support of access to contraceptives under health insurance plans. Attacks by Rush Limbaugh and others have focused attention on Fluke.

Bradley Showalter reaches for medication that's stored atop the refrigerator of his Sacramento home to keep it out of the reach of his children. Showalter, who has a rare liver cancer, lost his health insurance after losing his construction job, and faces huge bills when he undergoes the transplant that he'll need.

LEDE: Nikko Ellis, 3, prays before he has lunch at Maryhouse in Loaves and Fishes as he sits between his aunts Curtisjhae (cq) Colvarde, 14, and Koryon Colvard, 12, on Thursday, Sepetember 16, 2010. About 15.3 percent of Californians lived in poverty during 2009, almost a full percentage point jump from the previous year, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Since the start of the recession in 2007, an additional 1.1 million California residents have fallen below the poverty line, bringing the total number of Californians in poverty to 5.6 million. In addition, 19.9 percent of Californians didn't have health insurance during 2009, up from 18.5 percent the previous year. Those figures represent an additional 500,000 Californians without health insurance. Nationwide, the poverty rate increase from 13.2 percent to 14.3 percent, the census figures showed. The U.S. rate was the highest since 1994. The poverty level for a family of four is $21,954.