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.
After statewide rallies and demands from the nurses' union this week, the California Department of Public Health and Cal-OSHA have posted updated Ebola mandates for hospitals that go beyond federal standards to ensure that at-risk employees are provided with proper training and personal protective equipment.
Covered California officials this week are on a bus tour across the state -- stumping Thursday in La Habra and making multiple stops Friday in Los Angeles -- in preparation for Saturday's launch of the exchange's second open enrollment period.
Some large employers will face penalties if they don't offer workers health insurance in 2015.
Covered California, the Obamacare exchange that led the nation during its first year with about 1.2 million enrollees, predicts the tally will jump to 1.7 million in year two - a 500,000 increase, more than many states netted in total last time around.
Lilian Saldana turned down Obamacare coverage once, and she might do it again.
Under federal and state law, Certified Insurance Agents (CIAs) are required to offer Covered California consumers assistance with registering to vote.
Republicans have been chomping at the bit to repeal Obamacare since the instant President Barack Obama signed it into law on March 23, 2010.
President Barack Obama's health-care plan will face a fresh round of investigations and public hearings in the Republican-controlled Senate next year, though the president's veto power will keep it from being dismantled.
Voters have soundly defeated an attempt to raise California's cap on medical malpractice damage awards, after physician and insurance groups poured tens of millions of dollars into the opposition campaign.
California voters on Tuesday shot down a ballot initiative that sought to expand the state insurance commissioner's authority after health insurance companies poured millions of dollars into advertising to fight it.