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.
Dr. Wanda Heffernon, a former UCSF anesthesiologist, made headlines in 2001 when she pleaded guilty to stealing credit cards from her fellow physicians and forging prescriptions to feed her drug addiction.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom talks to the Sacramento Bee editorial board about California Proposition 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, in August 2016 in Sacramento. Newsom has enlisted health experts to begin working on a blueprint for a universal health care system for California that seeks to improve on the Affordable Care Act.
Some large health insurance companies have suffered losses under the Affordable Care Act, leading to a few high-profile exits from the online marketplaces. Humana is just the latest, announcing in January that it will stop offering health insurance on the ACA health exchanges at year’s end.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Democrats to work with Republicans in Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which he claimed, yet again, is a "disaster."
With President Trump now vowing to put forward a replacement for the Affordable Care Act in March, some California politicians and healthcare advocates are once again promoting the idea of a state-run “single-payer” system that operates like Medicare.
Los Angeles County arguably has more to lose than any other California county if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or dramatically scaled back.
Back in the day, people paid for routine primary care on their own and used insurance only when something serious came up. Some primary care doctors are betting that model can thrive again through a monthly subscription for routine care and a high-deductible insurance policy to take care of the big stuff.
Legislation introduced in the state Senate Friday would set California on a path toward the possible creation of a single-payer health care system ― a proposal that has failed to gain traction here in the past.
Representative Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader, keeps a souvenir from a dinner the night before this year’s inauguration behind his desk: an embossed menu autographed by Donald J. Trump. The president-elect was at his table. Mr. McCarthy is not only the second-most powerful Republican in the House — he is also one of the earliest and most earnest supporters of the new president.
Over the protest of California’s governor and Senate leader, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted to block the state from moving forward with its novel plan to provide a path toward retirement security for nearly 7 million low-income Californians.