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.
A new state law (SB 138) that went into effect on Jan. 1 allows individuals covered by another person's health plan to submit requests to insurers to keep certain medical information private, KPBS reports (Goldberg, KPBS, 1/6).
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Friday proposed a massive $113 billion state budget that boosts education spending and state savings while leaving some social programs funded below pre-recession levels, earning the ire of liberal activists that could set up a showdown with Democrats in the state legislature.
Starting this month, state-run insurance exchanges are legally required by the healthcare reform law to be financially self-sustaining.
Medicare Advantage is a popular choice for seniors already enrolled in traditional Medicare.
At least 7.1 million people so far have enrolled in 2015 health plans through Obamacare's insurance marketplaces, according to a pair of federal reports issued Tuesday.
At his inauguration ceremony today and immediately after he was sworn-in for a second term, California's Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones issued an emergency regulation to establish stronger requirements for health insurers to create and maintain sufficient medical provider networks to provide timely access to medical care.
After more than a century in California's political spotlight, the state's initiative process will be getting a major revise next year.
California's health exchange is violating the law by canceling private coverage for up to 95,000 people because they might qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's insurance commissioner says.
President Obama's executive action on immigration, announced last month, could potentially come with a much sweeter - and healthier - deal for undocumented immigrants in California than in the rest of the country.
Almost 145,000 Blue Shield of California members who get their health benefits through work will be affected by a contract break with Sacramento-based Sutter Health - if it holds.