California Commission to Explore Single-Payer System

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a single-payer candidate. The Democrat campaigned hard for the creation of one public insurance program for all Californians. And within hours of taking office last year, he called on the federal government to allow California and other states to create single-payer programs.

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Californians Have Until Friday to Sign Up for Health Insurance or Pay Penalty

Californians who do not receive health insurance through their jobs or public insurance programs have until Friday to sign up for health coverage for 2020 — or face a tax penalty.

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5 Ways the New Coronavirus May Already Be Affecting U.S. Insurers

China’s new coronavirus outbreak may never cause a significant number of health insurance or life insurance claims in the United States, but it’s already joined two other coronavirus outbreaks — Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) — as something that will shape how life insurance actuaries, investors and regulators see insuring people against the risk of dying for decades to come.

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Commissioner Lara Clears Licensing Individuals with Cannabis-Related Convictions

Commissioner Ricardo Lara today announced the Department of Insurance will use its discretion in deciding whether to issue licenses to those with cannabis-related convictions in support of Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 2016. This action will clear obstacles to becoming an agent, broker, or other licensee for those whose past convictions are eligible to be dismissed or reduced under the current law.

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High Drug Costs Outweigh ‘Medicare for All’ As Top Healthcare Issue for Voters

The debate over creating a single government health plan for all Americans may be dominating the Democratic presidential campaign, but most voters are focused on a more basic pocketbook issue: prescription drug prices.

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Number of New Individual and Family Enrollees at Covered California Grows

Covered California reported Thursday that the number of new enrollees has surged to 318,000, surpassing the total number from last year, as open enrollment nears its close on Jan. 31.

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Could California Really Make Its Own Insulin? Gavin Newsom Wants to Try

Lowering health costs emerged as a major part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020 agenda earlier this month when he unveiled plans to get state government in the business of selling prescription drugs.

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How Will the CMS’s New Health Care Price Transparency Rule Play Out?

The hospital chargemaster list is the latest political hot potato to be gingerly handled by the Trump administration. With new disclosure requirements scheduled to take effect in 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services intends to provide health care consumers access to data never before made public in an effort to help them make better decisions concerning their health.

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Medi-Cal Benefits Eliminated A Decade Ago, Such As Foot Care And Eyeglasses, Are Back

San Diego podiatrist Dr. John Chisholm recalls the jolt some of his patients felt in 2009 when Medi-Cal, the government-funded health insurance in California for low-income people, eliminated coverage for podiatry care and several other benefits for adults due to a massive budget shortfall engendered by the Great Recession.

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Major Insurers Pledge $55 Million to Try to Lower Generic Drug Prices

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and others say they have agreed to invest in a nonprofit’s effort to develop and sell cheaper drugs.

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