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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.

L.A. County Buys $750,000 Worth Of Baby Formula To Distribute To Families As Shortage Persists

Los Angeles County has purchased $750,000 worth of baby formula that it will soon start handing out at food distribution sites and through outreach programs for new mothers, officials said. The county purchased the formula to help feed babies as the nation grapples with a severe infant formula shortage, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said in ...

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California Schools Try To Outrace COVID Outbreaks

A fourth-grade camping trip led to one outbreak, a high school prom to another. But even with covid cases rising as schools head into the final stretch of the academic year, most California districts have not moved toward reinstating mask mandates. That stance has left many parents confused and concerned as they witness or hear about covid ...

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These Areas Of California Have Been Hardest Hit By New Coronavirus Wave

California coronavirus case rates have worsened dramatically in certain parts of the state in the past week, according to a Times analysis, with some areas particularly hard hit.

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The Great Culling: Which California bills did legislators kill?

On suspense file day, legislators killed about 220 California bills on issues including education, health care, housing and workers.

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Newsom Signs Compromise Law Raising The Limit On Medical Malpractice Damages

California's $250,000 limit on damages for pain and suffering caused by medical malpractice, a ceiling enacted by lawmakers in 1975 at the insistence of doctors and insurers, will be lifted next year.

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New Covered California Leader Urges Renewal of Enhanced Federal Aid for Health Premiums

When she was Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner, Jessica Altman, the appointee of a Democratic governor, often bumped against the political limits of health care policy in a state where Republicans controlled the legislature. Despite the constraints of a divided government, Altman played a key role in persuading lawmakers in 2019 to join Gov. Tom Wolf in passing ...

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After the Pandemic Hit Nursing Homes Hard, California Lawmakers Push to Tighten Licensing Rules

When Johanna Trenerry found a nursing home for her husband after his stroke, she expected his stay would be temporary. He never came home. Arthur Trenerry died at Windsor Redding Care Center in Northern California in October 2020. The 82-year-old great-grandfather is among more than 9,900 California nursing home residents who have died of covid-19. The nursing ...

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Post-COVID Jobs Recovery In Bay Area, California Lags Other States

Even as other states surpass their pre-pandemic job levels, the Bay Area and California have recuperated from coronavirus-linked business shutdowns and closures at a mediocre pace. The feeble rebound means a full recovery from COVID-spawned job losses remains months away, and has prompted some experts to warn that the Golden State and Silicon Valley aren’t ...

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Major Vaccine Bills Are Dying In The California Legislature. Here’s Why

When it comes to passing legislation to mandate or urge more people to get COVID-19 vaccines, there seems to be a common refrain at the California Capitol: Maybe next year. Lawmakers still have months left in their 2021 session, but an ambitious slate of vaccine bills proposed by Democrats is on life support. Its two ...

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Medical Malpractice Deal Could Replace Ballot Measure, Still Raise Monetary Awards

After years of multimillion-dollar battles over medical malpractice awards, California legislators  passed a deal increasing the monetary amount patients could claim in lawsuits while also averting a costly November ballot battle. The deal, which passed both chambers with near unanimous votes, replaced a ballot measure with legislation raising the cap for a patient’s “non-economic damages,” or ...

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