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.
As the total number of coronavirus cases in California topped 16,000, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he is confident the state is building up its number of ventilators, hospital beds and workforce to meet the demand of a still-to-come surge in patients that he projects won’t peak until May.
According to a new report by Covered California, California’s marketplace, 2021 premium increases to individuals and employers from COVID-19 alone could range from 4 percent to more than 40 percent, if carriers must recoup 2020 costs and protect solvency. COVID-19 has been an unprecedented situation with one-year projected costs in the national commercial market ranging ...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he is going back to the drawing board for his budget proposal, abandoning the $222 billion plan he laid out in January as the coronavirus pandemic hammers the state’s economy.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today alerted insurance companies that all workers affected by COVID-19 on the job are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits regardless of their immigration status. This includes workers engaged in front-line occupations such as health care, emergency services, food production, sales, and delivery, among others.
The coronavirus is surging in Los Angeles as the county emerges as the new epicenter of the virus in California — whereas in San Francisco, numbers are slowing, a payoff that officials say is because of the Bay Area’s fast action to impose aggressive restrictions on residents.
Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that will provide some relief for small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 crisis.
A proposal to retroactively lift a limit on state and local tax deductions would largely funnel money to relatively high earners in high-tax states.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an urgent call for healthcare workers to join the state in caring for an expected surge of COVID-19 patients while announcing an executive order to expand the services medical professionals can perform in their jobs.
Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed confidence Saturday that California has the capacity to produce enough ventilators to meet its projected needs in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But during a tour of a San Jose energy company that is refurbishing outdated ones, he cautioned that the state’s need could expand significantly if the public doesn’t maintain social distancing and the crisis worsens.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued dire warnings Friday that the nation’s second-largest city is headed for the same surge in COVID-19 cases as New York City after a 26% increase in California deaths overnight.