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.
Each year brings annual compliance responsibilities to employers regarding their health plans, federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, and COBRA responsibilities. It’s important for employers to be aware of – and adhere to – these responsibilities, supported by their health insurance brokers.
COVID-19 transmission continues to surge in California, along with spikes in other respiratory viruses, as state and local health officials urge indoor masking and additional precautions with end-of-year holidays approaching.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid from the tobacco industry to block a California ban on flavored tobacco products. The ban, or Proposition 31, was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November and will prohibit the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. The emergency plea was brought by R.J. Reynolds, a ...
The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 created a myriad of new compliance requirements for health plans, insurance issuers, insurance agents, and providers – all aimed to promote transparency. While the law was signed on December 27, 2020, many of its requirements and deadlines are approaching now. One of the new CAA requirements is for ...
California is now reporting very high flu levels, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the respiratory illness continues to surge nationwide.
There has been a troubling spike in coronavirus-positive hospital admissions among seniors in California, rising to levels not seen since the summer Omicron surge.
Blue Shield of California will be terminating 150 employees in the Sacramento region and 74 in Lodi as part of statewide layoffs affecting 373 people, according to notices the company filed with the state’s Employment Development Department. The company released a statement, saying: “As a nonprofit health plan, Blue Shield of California is driven by ...
Nurses and nurse practitioners at Kaiser Permanente voted overwhelmingly to ratify a four-year labor contract that secured them the biggest wage increases in about 20 years, their union announced Monday. The California Nurses Association represents more than 21,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners throughout the company’s Northern California operations. “With this new contract, we will ...
About 22,000 nurses and nurse practitioners reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente on a new four-year contract that includes provisions for a 22.5% raise and increased staffing.
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 ...