California Watch Category Banner

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.

Newsom Aims To Limit Unhealthy Food In California, Getting Ahead Of Trump Administration And RFK Jr.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Friday attempting to limit access to ultra-processed foods, a directive he cast as a continuation of California’s “nation leading” nutrition and health standards. “The food we eat shouldn’t make us sick with disease or lead to lifelong consequences,” Newsom said in a statement. “California has been a ...

Read More

California Health Care Legislative Update: Winter 2024

Governor Newsom signed over 1300 bills and vetoed almost 190 bills in 2024. Consistent with prior years, in 2024, California enacted multiple laws significantly impacting the health care industry. From artificial intelligence (AI) to providers to health plans, these new laws require proactive efforts to ensure on-going compliance. We highlight below the most important of ...

Read More

After Reducing Deficit, Newsom Proposals Bring Extra Costs To California

Tax revenues have exceeded estimates in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spending proposals and other state costs could quickly swallow up any extra funds.

Read More

Los Angeles County Announces $2 Billion Medical Debt Relief Program

Los Angeles County announced its $2 billion Medical Debt Relief Program aimed at helping low-income residents settle past-due bills. “The launch of this program is a critical step forward in ensuring that those receiving critical medical services do not find themselves experiencing financial harm associated with not being able to afford care,” said Dr. Barbara ...

Read More

How Potential Medicaid Cuts Could Play Out in California

California, like other states, depends heavily on federal dollars to provide care for its poorest residents. Analyses in 2017 showed GOP’s proposals would cut Medicaid funds flowing from Washington by tens of billions of dollars, perhaps even more, forcing state officials to rethink the scope of Medi-Cal.

Read More

Amazon-Abarca Pharmacy Venture With Blue Shield Of California Readies January Launch

The much-anticipated launch of Blue Shield of California’s drug benefit venture with Amazon Pharmacy and the pharmacy benefit manager Abarca will debut in January, executives involved say. When the venture was first announced in August of last year, it sent the stocks of the nation’s largest managers of pharmacy benefits plummeting when Blue Shield confirmed it ...

Read More

Newsom Wants $25 Million To Fight The Trump Litigation He Sees Coming

State lawmakers gaveled in a special session Monday focused on a proposed $25-million litigation fund to respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated attacks on California policies on civil rights, climate change and abortion access.

Read More

How Many Big Newsom Ideas Will California Legislature Fund?

As a new legislative session gets underway in Sacramento next week, officials are sending mixed signals about the state of the state budget and just how ambitious California can afford to be in the coming year. A mere week ago, the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal adviser released its annual outlook, projecting a small deficit that could soon ...

Read More

California Falling Short of Enrollment Goal as Mental Health Courts Roll Out Statewide

California’s new initiative to compel treatment for some of the state’s most severely mentally ill residents — many of whom are living on the streets — is falling short of its initial objectives. But with the program expanding from 11 counties to all 58 on Dec. 1, state officials are projecting confidence that they can ...

Read More

California Voters Approve Measure Aimed At Restricting AIDS Healthcare Foundation Spending

California voters have approved Proposition 34, a measure from an apartment trade group that aimed to restrict spending by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has bankrolled several rent control initiatives and criticized the measure as unconstitutional revenge. The Associated Press called the initiative Wednesday evening. According to the California Secretary of State, the measure is ahead 50.8% ...

Read More
arrowcaret-downclosefacebook-squarehamburgerinstagram-squarelinkedin-squarepauseplaytwitter-squareyoutube-square