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Industry Updates

This broad category includes articles concerning health insurance costs, carrier and health plan news, changing benefits technology, and surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others on employee benefits.

California Aims to Maximize Health Insurance Subsidies for Workers During Labor Disputes

This spring, Chevron workers testified that the company revoked health coverage for hundreds of members of the United Steelworkers Local 5 at the Richmond, California, refinery during a strike that ultimately lasted two months. Thousands of nurses at Stanford Health Care were told in April they would lose their health insurance if they did not return to work during ...

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New Law Requires Licensees to Include Their License Number on Emails

Starting January 1, 2023, a new law will require most types of insurance producers, as well as independent insurance adjusters, public insurance adjusters, and analysts, to include their license number on emails.

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California Stockpiles Penalties From Uninsured Residents Instead of Lowering Care Costs

Nearly three years after California started fining residents who don’t have health insurance, the state has not distributed any of the revenue it has collected, KHN has learned — money that was intended to help Californians struggling to pay for coverage. And so far, the majority of Californians paying the tax penalty for not having insurance are ...

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More People Will Be Eligible For Health Insurance Through Covered California

Hundreds of thousands of Californians previously shut out of Covered California — the state program that offers discounted health insurance — soon can participate because the eligibility requirements are changing. Prior to the new rules, individuals who had access to an employer-based health insurance plan through a family member were not eligible for Covered California. Employer plans ...

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Is California Strangling Its Golden Goose?

Citing a Bloomberg News article, Gov. Gavin Newsom crowed last month about the probability that California would soon pass Germany to become the world’s fourth largest economy. “While critics often say California’s best days are behind us, reality proves otherwise — our economic growth and job gains continue to fuel the nation’s economy,” Newsom said. Throughout ...

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4 Major California Employment Law Changes For 2023

California employers will see a number of changes affecting human resources in the new year. Major themes include compensation and leave, but employers also will need to note legislation that adds new retaliation protections for workers, attorneys told HR Dive.

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The Word & Brown Companies Named Among Business Insurance’s “Best Places To Work” For 2022

Business Insurance has selected The Word & Brown Companies among its “Best Places to Work in Insurance” for 2022. The award recognizes outstanding insurance-related employers for their outstanding performance in establishing workplaces where employees can thrive, enjoy their work, and help the companies grow.

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Lawsuits, Challenges And Debates: Where California's Controversial Medicaid Contract Process Stands

California’s first-ever Medicaid managed contract procurements are a major shakeup in the state’s Medi-Cal system, which has over 12 million enrollees, or a third of California’s population. Millions of residents will switch plans as a result of the changes, and a lengthy road of appeals and legal battles could lay ahead. California selected the intended ...

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New California Law Expands Pay Scale Disclosure, Pay Data Reporting

Legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last week requires employers to make pay scales available to job applicants and employees and expands California’s pay data reporting requirements.

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Doctors Fear California Law Aimed At COVID-19 Misinformation Could Do More Harm Than Good

California doctors will soon be subject to disciplinary action if they give their patients information about COVID-19 that they know to be false or misleading.

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