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.
The average premium for a California family with employer-sponsored coverage has hit nearly $28,400 a year, up 24% since 2022, much more than workers’ wages. Amid skyrocketing healthcare costs, the candidates’ proposals remain short on specifics about funding or implementation to address this top priority.
An attacker used a “phishing” strategy to get unauthorized access to Covered California agent information spreadsheets May 13, according to a sample breach notice letter posted on the California attorney general’s website Oct. 16. “As a result of this incident, your information, along with information relating to other agents, was disclosed,” Covered California officials warn ...
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 15 individuals, including six medical professionals, tied to healthcare fraud schemes that allegedly generated roughly $2 billion in fraudulent claims to government and private insurers. Prosecutors allege four defendants operated a $1.6 billion abuse treatment scheme in California, which the DOJ calls the largest sober-home/substance abuse treatment fraud ...
The elaborate scams include video calls with a police officer impersonator demanding personal information
California Senate Bill (SB) 729 requires fully insured Large Group health plans in California to include comprehensive infertility coverage, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). For fully insured Small Group plans, carriers must make at least one plan available with comprehensive infertility coverage – but the employer is not required to sponsor it. An employer can ...
Next July, new Medi-Cal rules prohibit seniors and people with disabilities from saving more than $21,000. State leaders say they needed to make cuts to deliver a balanced budget. Senior and disability rights advocates argue the cuts unfairly target vulnerable groups.
In March 2025, when California ran out of Medicaid funds to pay doctors and hospitals, the state borrowed $3.4 billion to keep the program afloat. It was, as a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom insisted, nothing new. Indeed, a handful of times over the years, the state had taken out internal, short-term loans to sustain ...
The state has not investigated 26,000 of its 28,000 highest-risk Medi-Cal providers, the report says. Health officials dispute it.
State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, and former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim both agree that California’s property insurance market needs fixing. But in a debate Thursday, the candidates for the state’s next insurance commissioner showcased what is a defining difference in their race: How far they want that change to go. “The truth is ...
Proposition 44 would require clinics to spend more money on patient care. The union pushing the measure is the same one supporting the billionaire tax proposal. Clinics say the measure will force closures.