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.
Mylan NV on Monday clarified the profit it said it made from its lifesaving EpiPen drug, days after House members badgered the company’s CEO to justify the device’s steep price increases.
When Senate Democrats announced a new push for a public option in Obamacare last week, the private insurance industry swung into action. And it did so quickly.
A California-based insurer that once sold mostly Medicaid plans has become a top competitor in ObamaCare’s marketplaces.In likely the toughest year yet for the reform law, Molina Healthcare is thriving in a market that’s seen high-profile departures from some of the nation’s largest health insurers.
At first blush, the tobacco tax measure on California’s November ballot looks pretty straightforward. Proposition 56 would raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by $2 and tax e-cigarettes for the first time. Proponents say the higher price would prevent kids from smoking and lower health care spending because people won’t suffer as much from tobacco-related illness.
With major insurers retreating from the federal health law’s marketplaces, California’s insurance commissioner said he supports a public option at the state level that could bolster competition and potentially serve as a test for the controversial idea nationwide.
California consumers will have the strongest protections in the nation against getting blindsided by unexpected out-of-network medical bills as part of legislation signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown.
CHOICE Administrators announced today the addition of two popular Western Health Advantage health plans to its coverage options for Northern California groups enrolling in CaliforniaChoice. The private health exchange, which marked its 20th anniversary earlier this year, is now quoting GOLD HMO C (Gateway 4010) and GOLD HMO D (Gateway 200 HSA) for groups of two to 100 employees for coverage effective December 1, 201
Restaurants, day care centers and other businesses will be able to stock and administer life-saving prescription medicine to immediately treat severe allergic reactions in their diners, pupils or customers under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown.
California’s vigorous embrace of Obamacare, particularly its sharp expansion of Medi-Cal coverage for the poor, has has reduced the state’s medically uninsured population by half, a new Census Bureau report says.
In a move that is sure to draw the ire of Republicans, California officials are asking the Obama administration this week to approve a plan that would allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance on the state’s public exchange.