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 response to recent federal legislation that cuts billions of dollars to Medicaid, Santa Clara County supervisors on Thursday unanimously voted to add a ballot measure to November’s special election that would increase local sales tax by five-eighths of a cent (0.625%) for five years to try to backfill some of the projected lost federal ...
A proposal advancing in the legislature would require California hospitals to pre-screen patients for charity care before sending out medical bills.
More than 2,300 Californians enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will lose their health insurance next month due to a change in federal policy, state officials announced Thursday.
Fortina Hernández is called “the one who knows it all.” For more than two decades, the community health worker has supported hundreds of families throughout southeast Los Angeles by helping them sign up for food assistance, sharing information about affordable health coverage, and managing medications for their chronic illnesses. She’s guided by the expression “an ...
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente plans to lay off 42 nurses at two outpatient clinics, attributing the decision to shifting volume patterns and patient care needs, according to July 18 reports from local news outlets. The job cuts are set to take effect in 60 days and will affect nurses at clinics in San Rafael and ...
Blue Shield of California is conducting a second round of layoffs this year, with 138 more employees being laid off in September. The majority of the layoffs affect employees in Oakland and El Dorado, with the remaining cuts taking place in Long Beach, Woodland Hills, Rancho Cordova, San Diego, Lodi and Redding, according to regulatory ...
In late June 2025, the California legislature approved a delay to the new fertility benefit mandate for fully insured group health plans — including coverage for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and other specified services. Originally set to take effect July 1, 2025, under Senate Bill 729 (signed in Fall 2024), the mandate will now apply ...
Trump’s sweeping plan slashes Medicaid and food aid, putting millions of Californians at risk — especially low-income residents, undocumented immigrants and rural communities.
After weeks of contract negotiations that threatened to disrupt medical care for tens of thousands of Californians, UC Health and Blue Shield of California have reached a new agreeme
California is one of the most affordable states for buying health insurance through marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” according to a new analysis. The personal finance company WalletHub found that the average California household spends 5.84% of its income on these types of health insurance premiums. That’s among the ...