October 24, 2017
In the latest signal that the Affordable Care Act is still law, the Internal Revenue Service said this week that it is taking steps to enforce the most controversial provision: the tax penalty people face if they refuse to obtain health insurance. Read More
October 24, 2017
As California health care officials brace themselves for changes to the Affordable Care Act by President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, state lawmakers today and Tuesday will hold a hearing examining the gaps in coverage and financing of California’s current system. Among the topics expected to be front and center is single-payer health care and Senate Bill 562, introduced earlier this year by Senators Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. That controversial proposal would replace California’s private health insurance market with a single, government-run plan with no premiums or deductibles for nearly 40 million Californians. Though the bill passed the Senate on June 1, it has been put on hold by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon because it does not include details on who would pay the $400 billion price tag for switching to a single payer system — in particular, the $200 billion gap after existing state and federal health care dollars are exhausted. Already, the two leading Democrats running for governor are sharply divided over how to achieve universal health care. Their differences were highlighted Sunday at a union-sponsored forum in Anaheim. Read More
October 24, 2017
A federal judge Monday expressed skepticism that President Donald Trump’s decision to halt certain health law insurance subsidies would cause consumers immediate harm, as California and many other states claim in a lawsuit. Read More
October 24, 2017
Millions of Americans with insurance through the Affordable Care Act could find themselves locked into health plans they do not want for the coming year because of the Trump administration’s schedule for the enrollment season that starts in less than two weeks. Read More
October 24, 2017
Disagreements over how to pay for an extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) could result in a partisan bill reaching the House floor as soon as this week, a top House Democrat said Monday. Read More
October 24, 2017
Over bitter protests from the pharmaceutical industry, California this month enacted a law that requires drug makers to explain and justify prices for some medicines. Read More
October 19, 2017
The state exchange that helps 89,000 low-income Nevadans obtain health insurance is being hit with federal cutbacks that could hurt the program. Read More
October 19, 2017
Governor Brian Sandoval called the president’s decision to end critical payments from the federal government that help health insurance companies offer affordable coverage to lower-income Americans “devastating,” though officials with the state’s insurance exchange say Nevadans won’t feel any immediate impact in the coming plan year. Read More
October 19, 2017
The bipartisan deal to stabilize ObamaCare’s markets has 24 co-sponsors, Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced Thursday. Read More
October 19, 2017
Top government lawyers representing 19 U.S. states on Wednesday asked a federal judge in California to force the administration of President Donald Trump to make health care subsidy payments that Trump abruptly cut off last week. Read More