High Court’s Decision On Same Sex Marriage Expected To Boost Health Coverage Among Gay Couples

The right to marry in any state won’t be the only gain for gay couples from last week’s Supreme Court ruling. The decision will probably boost health insurance among gay couples as same-sex spouses get access to employer plans, say analysts and benefits consultants. How much is unclear, but “it’s going to increase coverage” in ...

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Brown Signs $167.7B Budget With Few Line-Item Vetoes

On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a $167.6 billion state budget that includes funding to expand Medi-Cal to undocumented children, as well as other health care implications, the Los Angeles Times‘ “PolitiCal” reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. The budget will take effect July 1 (Megerian, “PolitiCal,” Los Angeles Times, 6/24). Background on Budget ...

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GOP Weighs Response to Supreme Court’s Federal Subsidies Ruling

After the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled to uphold Affordable Care Act subsidies to help U.S. residents purchase coverage through the federal exchange, the GOP could turn to budget reconciliation as part of its efforts to repeal the law, National Journalreports (Scott/Johnson, National Journal, 6/25). Background The subsidies were challenged in the case King v. ...

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Burwell Says Payment Policies Next Push In Obamacare Implementation

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said on Thursday the Obama administration will focus on improving quality over quantity in the nation’s healthcare system in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court ruled earlier on Thursday to uphold the nationwide availability of tax subsidies that are crucial to President Barack ...

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California Senate Passes Vaccine Bill on Second Vote; Now Heads to Governor

SACRAMENTO — The controversial bill that would give California one of the country’s strictest vaccination laws headed on Monday to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, with supporters urging him to sign it and opponents promising to stand vigil around the clock to convince him to veto it. On Monday, a majority of the California state Senate ...

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New Analysis Reveals High-Priced Hepatitis C Drugs Could Have Costly Impact on California

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — A new analysis and infographic released today estimate California’s exposure to high-priced Hepatitis C medications could range from hundreds of millions of dollars, even if only 5 percent of Californians infected with Hepatitis C receive treatment through state programs. The analysis, which looks at the costly impact of ...

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Study Finds Almost Half of Health Law Plans Offer Very Limited Physician Networks

If the physician networks for plans sold on the health law’s online insurance exchanges were T-shirts, more than 40 percent would be size X-small or small. That’s the takeaway from a new study that analyzed nearly 400 physician networks in silver-level plans sold around the country  in 2014. The study labeled 11 percent of plans ...

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Health Coverage Expanded to Undocumented Immigrants in 35 California Counties

A state panel expanded health care coverage Thursday for undocumented immigrants and other low-income residents of 35 rural counties, including Yolo and El Dorado counties in the Sacramento region. The move by the County Medical Services Program board promises to fill in health access gaps for people who don’t qualify for low-income health coverage through ...

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Top Obamacare Official Looks Ahead After Supreme Court Ruling

The U.S. official overseeing Obamacare said on Friday she has not seen any indication that states will back away from running their own health insurance marketplaces now that the Supreme Court has validated the federal insurance exchange. Sylvia Burwell, secretary of Health and Human Services, also said she expected enrollment in both the state and ...

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Medicare Slow To Adopt Telemedicine Due To Cost Concerns

Donna Miles didn’t feel like getting dressed and driving to her physician’s office or to a retailer’s health clinic near her Cincinnati home. For several days, she had thought she had thrush, a mouth infection that made her tongue sore and discolored with raised white spots. When Miles, 68, awoke on a wintry February morning ...

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