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.
Three years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature enacted a major overhaul of the system that compensates workers for job-related injuries and illnesses. Senate Bill 863, backed by employers and labor unions, affected many specific aspects of the system but was aimed largely at reducing medical costs and redirecting savings into cash benefit increases ...
On Tuesday, the Joint Commission recognized more than 1,000 hospitals in California and other states as “Top Performers” for achieving high performance on key quality measures, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports (Biloxi Sun Herald, 11/16). The fifth-annual “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures” list was included in the organization’s 2015 annual America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality ...
There are major differences in health care status among different types of Asians and Latinos in California — and yet the state so far has resisted treating those subgroups differently, according to UCLA researchers who released an updated version of health survey data last month. “Data clearly show the need to disaggregate the Asian community ...
A new poll suggests widespread support for a measure headed for the 2016 ballot that would cap prescription drug prices paid by state programs. The California Drug Price Act would prohibit the state from using taxpayer money to pay more for any prescription drug than the amount paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. ...
If you work at a business with 50 or fewer employees, watch out for grandma this year. By that, we mean if the company has a “grandmothered” health plan, you may be in for some changes in 2016. Grandmothered is the term insurance agents and brokers have been using for pre-Obamacare policies that were allowed ...
Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente have agreed to joint ownership of St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton. Dignity Health will keep an 80 percent ownership interest in the hospital and related operations. Kaiser will buy a 20 percent interest, the two companies announced Monday. The deal is expected to close in mid-2016. The agreement creates ...
A section of the wall where Providence Speech and Hearing Center in Orange honors its donors is reserved for a select few “Giant Sequoias” of generosity. Among them are John M. Word III and Edward “Rusty” Brown Jr. The founders of The Word & Brown Cos., an innovator in the area of insurance services and ...
Half of California’s undocumented immigrants — about 1.4 million — have incomes low enough to qualify for full Medi-Cal benefits should California legislative proposals to offer coverage to the undocumented ever be enacted. That is among the key findings of a Public Policy Institute of California report released Monday night which examines current policy options ...
Several California hospitals were included in Becker’s Hospital Review‘s list of 100 facilities with “great” cardiovascular programs,Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Details of List For the list, Becker‘s editorial staffers reviewed various ranking and award agencies, including: Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care; CareChex’s rankings for cardiac care; Healthgrades cardiology awards; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ ...
California has seen the largest decline in the number of uninsured children since the Affordable Care Act took effect, according to a report by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, the Public News Service reports (Potter, Public News Service, 10/29). The report was based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey ...