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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.

Covered California Seeks Obamacare For People Living In US Illegally

Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, has released a draft of a waiver under Obamacare that must be approved by the federal government before the exchange can begin selling health plans to undocumented immigrants.

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Medicare’s Readmission Penalties Hit New High

The federal government’s readmission penalties on hospitals will reach a new high as Medicare withholds more than half a billion dollars in payments over the next year, records released Tuesday show.

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Your ZIP Code And Your Health Plan Determine Your Care, New Data Show

It is no secret that the cost and quality of health care can vary greatly within a state as large as California. But by how much?

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Can I Afford To Keep My Doctor?

For most of my adult life, I’ve picked my health insurance based on one simple standard: Does my beloved primary care physician participate in the plan?

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Long-Term Care Is An Immediate Problem – For The Government

Donna Nickerson spent her last working years as the activity and social services director at a Turlock, Calif., nursing home.

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Making Care More Affordable, But Not Less Expensive

The big rate increases announced last week for health insurance policies sold by California’s version of the federal health reform are the latest evidence that the Affordable Care Act, despite its name, cannot do much to tame the rise of health care costs.

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Doctors Reject Covered California Patients Most Often, Study Says

The recent announcement that Covered California premiums will rise by double digits in 2017 — far higher than in previous years —— is only part of the challenge for the nation’s largest health exchange.

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California Moves To Block Anthem-Cigna Deal

California joined U.S. Justice Department antitrust lawsuits filed Thursday in an effort to block the merger of two major health insurers — Anthem Inc.’s bid to buy Cigna Corp.

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Two Insurance Giants Planning To Jump Into California’s Medicaid Market

Two of the nation’s largest insurers are reaching out to doctors as they prepare to offer health coverage to low-income residents in California’s Medicaid program.

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Humana and Covered California

Interest groups are starting to send a new wave of emails about how the Affordable Care Act exchange system is pretty much dead for 2017, or about how wonderful and affordable it is this year and how surely it won't be dead next year.

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