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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 Helps Keep Premiums in Check, UC Berkeley Study Finds

Covered California’s Obamacare exchange has helped consumers get a better deal on health insurance in part because of its negotiating power — power that other Affordable Care Act marketplaces don’t have — according to a new analysis published Monday.

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Medi-Cal Will Soon Cover Children In The U.S. Illegally. The Real Battle? Getting Adults Insured

Ever since Obamacare took effect two years ago, many California legislators have been fighting to get health insurance for those it left out — the quarter of all immigrants in the country illegally who live within the state's borders.

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Covered California Glitch: Dropping Coverage for Pregnant Woman

Rep. Ami Bera and 15 members of the California delegation are pushing the heads of California Health and Human Services and the California Health Benefit Exchange in a letter to address a computer glitch that is terminating Covered California Care for pregnant women.

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State Exchange First to Set Quality, Cost Standards for Health Plans

Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, is the first Affordable Care Act (ACA) health exchange to impose quality and cost standards on health plans and providers.

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Will Covered California Sell Health Coverage To The Undocumented?

California legislators are attempting to clear the way for undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through the state’s insurance exchange — potentially setting a national precedent.

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Bill Requiring Disciplined Physicians to Notify Patients Advances in Sacramento

Doctors who are on probation after being disciplined by state regulators would have to share that information with patients before providing care under a bill making its way through the state Senate.

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Key Senate Committee Votes For More Transparency On Drug Price Hikes

The California state Senate’s Committee on Health Wednesday put its stamp of approval on legislation that would oblige prescription drug manufacturers to give advance notice and written justification for significant price increases.

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More Customers Dumped From Covered California Without Notice

Lynn Kersey has some advice for pregnant women who bought health insurance policies from Covered California and want to keep them: Don’t report your pregnancy to the agency.

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California Health-System Blunders Give Couple a Huge Tax Headache

What happens when you mix health care and taxes — the two most complicated systems in the nation? When things go wrong, you can end up with something exponentially more complex.

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Covered California Acts to Ensure Everyone Gets a Primary Care Doctor

The policy shift is in the agency's new contract with insurers, approved by the Covered California board last week. It will affect preferred provider network plans - PPOs - in particular. A consumer favorite, PPO plans allow members to go to any doctor – specialist or otherwise – without a referral from a primary care physician.

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