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.
Some public transit agencies in California are asking riders to continue wearing masks on buses and trains, despite a federal court ruling in Florida on Monday that struck down the masking mandate on public transportation.
As the smell of cinnamon rolls and suntan lotion wafted through the spring air at Disneyland on Monday morning, Rory Sutherland flung herself on the sidewalk and had what can only be described as a hissy fit. She was ready for a hug from Mickey Mouse — in fact, beyond ready: For more than two ...
Executive Summary The California Department of Managed Health Care (“DMHC”) issued a recent guidance interpreting the application of the No Surprises Act (“NSA”)—a new federal law prohibiting out-of-network healthcare providers from balance-billing patients for certain emergency and non-emergency services—in California. Significantly, when determining which payment and dispute resolution processes will apply in a dispute regarding the value ...
Many employers use rounding to adjust an employee’s work hours to the nearest whole time increment, such as five or ten minutes. Employers beware! However, in a newly published decision, timekeeping rounding must not apply to meal periods.
Coronavirus cases are once again on the rise in Los Angeles County, according to data released Monday, prompting officials to urge residents to keep up safety protocols as the spring break holiday season arrives.
Blue Shield of California and Walgreens Health are expanding access to in-person and virtual care options through the launch of 12 new Walgreens Health Corner locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County.
Prescription drug costs for California’s massive Medicaid program were draining the state budget, so in 2019 Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the private sector for help.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed an employer’s challenge to a California labor law that authorizes private attorneys to sue on behalf of thousands of workers, even if those workers had agreed to arbitrate their claims individually.
A few weeks ago, state regulators imposed a record $55 million in fines on L.A. Care, California’s largest Medi-Cal managed-care plan, for failing to ensure adequate care and allowing treatment delays that threatened enrollees’ health. Patient advocates hope the move signals stricter enforcement against other Medi-Cal insurers, which have many of the same shortcomings for which the regulators just fined L.A. Care.
After dramatic declines in coronavirus cases, Los Angeles County has hit another plateau this week that comes amid the spread of the highly infectious BA.2 Omicron subvariant.