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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.

Why Drug Companies, Hospitals are Spending Big at State Capitol – and What it Means for You

Drug companies, hospitals and dialysis companies spent millions of dollars in the first half of the year fighting bills that would have hurt their bottom lines, according to lobbying reports filed last week.

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California Insurance Commissioner Won’t Disclose Calendars After Accepting Industry Donations

An advocacy group is demanding that California’s insurance commissioner release records about his business meetings following a report that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from insurance leaders and their spouses.

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California Moves One Step Closer Toward Creating A Prescription Drug Single-Purchaser System

Continuing the implementation of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order to take on high prescription drugs costs, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced today that it will soon begin accepting proposals to implement a significant component of the state’s prescription drug purchasing plan.

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Federal Appeals Court Takes Up Case That Could Upend U.S. Health System

The fate of the Affordable Care Act is again on the line Tuesday, as a federal appeals court in New Orleans takes up a case in which a lower court judge has already ruled the massive health law unconstitutional.

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Covered California Says Consumers Will See Lowest-Ever Premium Hike for Individual Policies

Covered California announced Tuesday morning that it expects an average premium increase of 0.8 percent for 2020 in the state’s individual marketplace, the lowest such rate change since the health insurance exchange started business in 2013.

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Medi-Cal Enrollment Among Immigrant Kids Stalls, Then Falls. Is Fear To Blame?

As California prepares to expand Medicaid coverage to young adults living in the state illegally, the number of undocumented immigrant children in the program is slowly declining, new state data show.

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Trump, California Governor Spar Over Immigrant Health Care

California’s governor vowed on Monday to continue expanding taxpayer funded health benefits to adults living in the country illegally next year, ensuring the volatile issue will get top billing in the 2020 presidential election as Democrats vying for the nomination woo voters in the country’s most populous state.

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Proposal to Change Poverty Calculations Could Cause 60,000 to Lose Public Benefits in California

California advocacy groups are decrying a Trump administration proposal to change one of the measurements to determine the federal poverty level, a move that could force tens of thousands of state residents to lose their public benefits over the next decade.

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California Legislature Oks Health Insurance Mandate

The California Legislature voted Monday to tax people who refuse to buy health insurance, bringing back a key part of former President Barack Obama's health care law in the country's most populous state after it was eliminated by Republicans in Congress.

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New Budget Boosts Health Coverage For Low-Income Californians

Ann Manganello survives entirely off her Social Security stipend: $1,391 a month. That doesn’t amount to much in the pricey desert enclave of Palm Springs, Calif. — especially for someone who contends with a host of expensive medical problems, including a blood vessel disorder, complications from a recent stroke and frequent bouts of colitis.

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