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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.

HHS Secretary: Supreme Court Ruling Against Obamacare Would Harm Millions

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell on Monday rebuked critics who want the Supreme Court to invalidate Obamacare's subsidies in much of the country, saying such a ruling would harm millions of Americans who "need, want and like" their health coverage.

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Covered California Takes Steps To Improve 2016 Rx Drug Coverage

Covered California is taking steps to finalize prescription drug benefits for its 2016 health plans, Capital Public Radio's "KXJZ News" reports.

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Obamacare’s Projected Cost Falls Due to Lower Premiums Under Health Care Law, CBO Says

The estimated cost of President Obama's signature health care law is continuing to fall.

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Rural Hospitals Get Billions In Extra Medicare Funds

A law that allows rural hospitals to bill Medicare for rehabilitation services for seniors at higher rates than nursing homes and other facilities has led to billions of dollars in extra government spending, federal investigators say.

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Improper Payments Jumped $125 Billion For Federal Government Last Year

The federal government lost ground last year in reducing improper payments from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and tax credits for the working poor, experiencing a nearly 18 percent increase in the costs.

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Slightly More Latinos and African American Sign Up On California Exchange

The percentage of Latinos and African Americans who signed up for subsidized health coverage through California's insurance exchange increased modestly during the second annual open enrollment period, officials announced Thursday.

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New Federal Rule Will Extend Medical Leave Rights To Same-Sex Couples In All States

Starting March 27, legally married same-sex couples will be able to take unpaid time off to care for a spouse or sick family members even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage.

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Digital Dilemma For Medicine: How To Share Records

Technology entrepreneur Jonathan Bush says he was recently watching a patient move from a hospital to a nursing home. The patient’s information was in an electronic medical record, or EMR. And getting that record from the hospital to the nursing home, Bush says, wasn’t exactly drag and drop.

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Covered California Enrollment Numbers Hit 1.4 Million, Lower Than Target

Nearly 500,000 new consumers signed up for insurance and picked a health plan through Covered California through Feb. 22, executive director Peter Lee announced at the exchange board meeting Thursday.

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Governor Names Two New Covered California Board Members

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed a Latino health activist and long-time labor leader who's worked at top levels of state government to the board at Covered California, the state health benefit exchange.

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