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.
Dozens of state attorneys general, including California, are calling for Congress to end a practice they say has “exacerbated the problem of manipulated prices and unavailability of certain prescription medications.” The 39 attorneys generals, which includes those representing United States territories and the District of Columbia, urge Congress to pass an act prohibiting pharmacy benefit ...
California residents are now eligible to buy naloxone — a drug commonly sold under the brand name Narcan and used to treat opioid overdoses — for $24 through the state’s prescription website CalRx, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a news release Monday. “Life-saving medications shouldn’t come with a life-altering price tag. CalRx is about ...
California is projected to experience the largest potential losses in Medicaid coverage if federal work requirements are enacted.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday to close a $2.8 billion budget gap in the state’s Medicaid services and ensure coverage through June for 15 million people, including immigrants, who receive health care via the program. The legislation is part of the state’s solution to solve the $6.2 billion hole in the state’s Medicaid budget. It ...
A new California law is about to make infertility coverage – including IVF (in vitro fertilization) – a standard benefit in fully insured Large Group plans. SB 729, signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2024, requires plans issued, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, to include coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of ...
A coalition of states sued the Trump administration last Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country.
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent an urgent appeal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Saturday, imploring the department to reverse the abrupt cancellation of a Biden-era program that feeds millions of California families and has served as a lifeline for hundreds of small farmers since its inception in 2021. “The irrational and malicious slashing of funds ...
An ambitious California Democrat wants the world’s fifth-largest economy to create its own National Institutes of Health and vaccine program, saying the state can’t rely on the administration to support research and science.
The powerful health care interests who put Proposition 35 on the ballot last November had a simple pitch for the complex initiative: a tax no voter paid would provide a long-awaited pay bump to doctors and hospitals who serve the state’s lowest-income residents.
On March 19, 2025, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) issued an All Plan Letter (APL 25-005) directing its regulated health plans to provide specific flexibilities to providers who were displaced by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties earlier this year.