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.
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.
California is developing a long-sought statewide health information exchange for providers and payers to deliver better care for patients. The health information exchange, or HIE, has received little public attention. But it would cover 40 million people in California’s 58 counties, and would in part quickly inform emergency room doctors and nurses of a patient’s ...
The California Chamber of Commerce yesterday released the first wave of bills to be included on its 2022 job killer list. The preliminary list includes 9 new bills and two carry-over proposals from 2021. The CalChamber expects several additions to the list in the coming weeks.
A group of truck drivers protesting COVID-19 mandates on roads and highways around the Washington, D.C., area in recent weeks will head to California next, an organizer announced Sunday night.
The DMHC issued its final guidance on the No Surprises Act, confirming that the Knox-Keene Act constitutes a “specified state law” under the Act. The out-of-network reimbursement requirements for emergency services and the dispute resolution process in the NSA will therefore not apply to DMHC claims. Instead, health plans must continue to comply with the Knox-Keene Act ...