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.
Health officials in California want everyone 18 and older to get COVID-19 booster shots ahead of the holiday season. But there is still widespread confusion about who can book an appointment and how. That’s because most online vaccination scheduling systems — including the state’s MyTurn appointment site — still show the specific eligibility categories to ...
Yoga studio owner David Gross felt relieved after Los Angeles passed a vaccine mandate that is among the strictest in the country, a measure taking effect Monday that requires proof of shots for everyone entering a wide variety of businesses from restaurants to shopping malls and theaters to nail and hair salons.
Open enrollment for the nation’s largest state-run health insurance marketplace began Monday and runs through the end of January. Covered California sells individual health insurance plans to people who can’t get coverage through their job. Some people, depending on how much money they make, are eligible for deep discounts on their monthly premiums. Even families ...
The California Association of Health Underwriters recently submitted comments to the Healthy California For All Commission regarding several health insurance policy areas that the state seeks to regulate. The stated goal of the Healthy California For All Commission is to “develop a plan for advancing progress toward achieving a health care delivery system for California that provides ...
California has given away at least $20 billion to criminals in the form of fraudulent unemployment benefits, state officials said Monday, confirming a number smaller than originally feared but one that still accounts for more than 11% of all benefits paid since the start of the pandemic.
Three months after Gov. Gavin Newsom required state workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing, his pledge that California government would lead by example has not been fulfilled: Many public agencies face low vaccination rates, and most state-run workplaces have failed to test unvaccinated employees. At the California Department of Forestry ...
California is the first state to let some adult children add their parents as dependents on their insurance plans, a move advocates hope will cover the small population of people living in the country illegally who don't qualify for other assistance programs.
The coming federal vaccine mandate could result in a wave of firings of employees who are reluctant to get the life-saving shots. That has many companies nervous that those jobs will be difficult to fill in a labor market where willing hands are increasingly hard to come by.
San Francisco will loosen its mask mandate for certain indoor spaces on Oct. 15, but in the city and much of the rest of the Bay Area, people will still be required to wear face coverings in most public places for the next couple of months and possibly into 2022, according to new rules announced Thursday.
Health insurers must cover the cost of coronavirus tests under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that ensures Californians do not have to pay out-of-pocket fees or contend with prior authorization requirements, which have left some consumers with surprise medical bills and bureaucratic headaches. Federal and state laws were passed during the pandemic ...