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.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is directing the California Highway Patrol and National Guard to assist San Francisco authorities in combating the fentanyl crisis in the city. The two agencies will be partnering with the local police department and the district attorney's office to attempt to stem trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid.
The Medical Board of California may soon get a significant boost to its enforcement powers, but some are already saying that proposed changes do not go far enough. On a unanimous vote Monday, the state Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development approved a “sunset review” bill that would allow the board to continue ...
Starting next year, California will join at least 10 states — including Colorado, Maryland, and Massachusetts — using tax forms to point people toward the lower-cost coverage available through state insurance marketplaces.
A slew of very informal-looking COVID-19 testing sites, paying passersby $5 a pop for taking a COVID test, is drawing another round of scrutiny for their lack of licensed staff and apparent flouting of public health protocols. Among the slew of maybe- or maybe-not permitted vending booths crowding the sidewalks of 24th and Mission Streets, in recent ...
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest, low-income Californians who enrolled in Medi-Cal — California’s version of the government-funded Medicaid health insurance program — have been able to keep their coverage without having to prove every year that they still qualified for it. That’s because the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which President Trump signed ...
“California has taken action proactively to enact strong consumer protections into state law, including requirements on health plans to cover preventive care with no cost sharing to enrollees.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest, low-income Californians who enrolled in Medi-Cal — California’s version of the government-funded Medicaid health insurance program — have been able to keep their coverage without having to prove every year that they still qualified for it. That’s because the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which President Trump signed ...
Beginning Monday, California will no longer require masks for COVID-19 prevention in health care settings — leaving isolation for those who test positive as the last vestige of the state’s formerly mandatory COVID rules. California lifted its COVID-19 state of emergency in February, nearly three years after it was put in place, and President Biden indicated last week he won’t ...
Should Los Angeles clamp down on how much hospital executives are paid? That decision could be put to Los Angeles city voters, under a ballot measure supported by a union representing healthcare workers. But whether that happens may hinge on another question: How much does the president of the United States make? The California Hospital Assn. has ...
Courts at the state and federal levels continue grappling with the application of California insurance law to COVID-19 business interruption claims. Much uncertainty remains as to how California law applies in a number of scenarios presented by the pandemic.