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.
Rising drug costs are often blamed for driving up health insurance premiums, but a major consumer group says the numbers don’t add up — at least in California.
Cal INDEX, a highly touted database of patient medical records backed by two of California’s largest health insurers, is searching for a new chief executive as it tries to overcome a slow start.
State Sen. Ed Hernandez's attempt to push through a drug pricing transparency bill sputtered this year, but the West Covina Democrat still wants his colleagues to weigh in on the latest controversy in the cost of prescription drugs: the surging price of EpiPens.
This year, taxpayers will cover about 70 percent of what is spent on health care in California, according to a new analysis released Wednesday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Surprise medical bills happen when patients seek care from a facility within their health insurance network but then unknowingly receive services from an out-of-network provider, such as an anesthesiologist, who's not covered by their insurance.
Californians with Medicare coverage would no longer be surprised by huge medical bills stemming from “observation care” in hospitals under legislation that state lawmakers approved overwhelmingly last week and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown to sign into law.
Pharmaceutical heavyweight Mylan, the latest poster child for drug-industry greed, finally stuck up for itself Thursday. It argued that “the system,” not avarice, was to blame for the company jacking up the price of EpiPens, a common (and life-saving) allergy remedy, by over 400%.
Under existing law, the California Department of Managed Health Care and the California Department of Insurance review rate hikes proposed by the insurers and health plans each regulates.
A measure to protect California consumers from surprise medical bills — among the longest-debated issues to be considered by state lawmakers — moved closer than it’s ever been to becoming law when the Senate approved it Monday with a 35-1 vote.
Pharmaceutical companies have contributed more than $16 million this month to oppose a ballot measure that aims to limit the price the state pays for prescription drugs.