California Watch
News stories in this section spotlight activities in California, including actions by the state Assembly and state Senate; proposed legislation; regulators like the Department of Managed Health Care and Department of Insurance; and the state ACA exchange, Covered California.
In a class-action complaint filed this week in Sacramento Superior Court, two plaintiffs allege that Sutter Health is secretly sharing their medical information with Facebook, Google, Twitter and other third parties, impinging on their privacy and opening them up to targeted internet advertising.
Democrats in the state Legislature on Sunday agreed to make adults between the ages of 19 and 25 eligible for the state’s Medicaid program. Not everyone will get those benefits, only people whose incomes are low enough to qualify for the program. State officials estimate the program will cover an additional 90,000 people at a cost of $98 million.
More than 150,000 California children dropped out of federally funded health insurance programs in 2018, a trend some experts blame on the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies and efforts to upend the Affordable Care Act.
Orange County mom Michelle Sabino says her daughter experienced 16 seizures in two months after she was vaccinated for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough when she was a baby.
Claire Haas and her husband are at a health insurance crossroads. If they were single, each would qualify for a federal tax credit to help reduce the cost of their health insurance premiums. As a married couple, they get zip.
On Wednesday, the California Assembly passed a bill establishing the California Health Care Coverage Shared Responsibility Act. The bill, AB 414, aims to create a statewide individual mandate for health insurance.
The California State Assembly voted overwhelmingly this week to pass legislation that would allow adult undocumented immigrants to receive health insurance benefits.
California lawmakers are headed toward a confrontation with Gov. Gavin Newsom over whether to keep a tax that can generate nearly $2 billion for low-income health benefits but means approval from the Trump administration amid a feud between state and federal officials.
The California Assembly voted 46-15 to pass A.B. 290, a measure that would limit dialysis provider and rehabilitation center profits operating in the state when insurance premiums are covered by third-party payers.
Noted psychiatrist and former Verily leader Dr. Tom Insel is going to be the “mental health czar” for the state of California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.