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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.

California Aims to Maximize Health Insurance Subsidies for Workers During Labor Disputes

This spring, Chevron workers testified that the company revoked health coverage for hundreds of members of the United Steelworkers Local 5 at the Richmond, California, refinery during a strike that ultimately lasted two months. Thousands of nurses at Stanford Health Care were told in April they would lose their health insurance if they did not return to work during ...

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Providence Closes 27 Retail Clinics In Southern California

Dive Brief: * Providence said it has closed all 27 of its retail clinics in Southern California, citing macroeconomic pressures and lower patient volumes than anticipated. The clinics closed to patient care Thursday. * “The national healthcare labor shortage, inflation, global supply chain disruptions, lower than budgeted volumes, and a highly competitive retail health industry ...

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New Law Requires Licensees to Include Their License Number on Emails

Starting January 1, 2023, a new law will require most types of insurance producers, as well as independent insurance adjusters, public insurance adjusters, and analysts, to include their license number on emails.

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California Voters Approve Ban On Sale Of Flavored Tobacco Products

California voters passed a ballot measure to uphold a 2020 law that banned the sale of most flavored tobacco products, giving anti-tobacco advocates an expected victory in a multiyear fight against the industry to mitigate a youth vaping crisis.

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California Stockpiles Penalties From Uninsured Residents Instead of Lowering Care Costs

Nearly three years after California started fining residents who don’t have health insurance, the state has not distributed any of the revenue it has collected, KHN has learned — money that was intended to help Californians struggling to pay for coverage. And so far, the majority of Californians paying the tax penalty for not having insurance are ...

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California Expected To Partner With Nonprofit Civica Rx To Produce Its Own Low-Cost Insulin, Sources Say

California plans to partner with Civica Rx, a nonprofit generic drug company, in the state’s effort to produce its own low-cost insulin, according to two people familiar with the matter. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in July that he had approved a budget that would allocate $100 million to allow the state to begin making its own insulin. ...

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More People Will Be Eligible For Health Insurance Through Covered California

Hundreds of thousands of Californians previously shut out of Covered California — the state program that offers discounted health insurance — soon can participate because the eligibility requirements are changing. Prior to the new rules, individuals who had access to an employer-based health insurance plan through a family member were not eligible for Covered California. Employer plans ...

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Californians Reject Measure To Alter Dialysis Clinic Rules

For the third time in three straight elections, California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have mandated major changes to the operations of dialysis clinics that provide life-saving care to 80,000 people with kidney failure. Proposition 29 failed after nearly 70% of Californians voted “no” in returns late Tuesday. The measure would have required ...

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Many Privacy Rights Act Provisions Take Effect Jan. 1

Originally passed in 2018 and effective in 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a comprehensive privacy law aimed at enhancing California residents’ privacy rights and consumer protection.

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Is California Strangling Its Golden Goose?

Citing a Bloomberg News article, Gov. Gavin Newsom crowed last month about the probability that California would soon pass Germany to become the world’s fourth largest economy. “While critics often say California’s best days are behind us, reality proves otherwise — our economic growth and job gains continue to fuel the nation’s economy,” Newsom said. Throughout ...

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