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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.

A Deep Dive Into California “Single Payer”

In 2021, the California Assembly introduced a new bill, AB 1400, which – if passed – would have eliminated health care in California, as we know it today. Instead, all health care in California would be provided by one new “Single Payer” system called “CalCare” – with no other options for Californians. The move would have eliminated all existing ...

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Single-Payer Healthcare Proposal Fizzles In California Assembly

Lawmakers declined to vote on a high-profile effort to overhaul California’s healthcare system on Monday, putting an end to a proposal that would have guaranteed medical coverage to every resident by levying billions in new taxes.

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Universal Health Care Bill Dies In California

A bill that would have created the nation's only government-funded universal health care system died in the California Assembly on Monday as Democrats could not gather enough support to bring it for a vote ahead of a legislative deadline.

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California EDD Besieged With More Fraud Attempts

The Employment Development Department, which last month froze about 345,000 disability insurance claims it flagged as suspicious, announced Thursday that it suspects that a whopping 98 percent of the 27,000 medical providers associated with those claims are fraudulent.

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COVID-19 Sick Pay In California Would Return Under Deal Between Newsom, Lawmakers

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers reached an agreement Tuesday to again require employers to provide workers with up to two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave to recover from COVID-19 or care for a family member with the virus. The legislation, which lawmakers would likely fast-track to the governor in the coming weeks, would ...

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No Debate On Skyrocketing Cost Of California Single-Payer Bill? So Much For Good Government

This measure, after all, would completely change healthcare coverage for Californians. Insurance companies would be shoved aside. People would be switched from their current coverage — whether private, federal Medicare or Medi-Cal for the poor — to a new state-run plan called CalCare.

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California Single Payer Proposal Moves Forward

We need your help in requesting that the California Assembly OPPOSE AB 1400, which mandates a government-run single payer health care program and abolishes private health insurance, Medi-Cal, Medicare, Covered California, and the valuable advocacy services of insurance professionals.

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Word & Brown Participates in California Chamber of Commerce AB 1400 Opposition Effort

The California Chamber of Commerce and the below listed organizations are OPPOSED to AB 1400 (Kalra, Lee, and Santiago) as amended on January 24, 2022, and ACA 11 (Kalra and Lee) as introduced on January 5, 2022, as JOB KILLERS, as the bills would create a new and exorbitantly expensive government bureaucracy, which would control and finance a state-run health care system (CalCare), ultimately resulting in significant job loss to California.

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UnitedHealthcare, Kaiser Appeal ACA Risk-Corridor Settlement Deal

A group of insurers led by UnitedHealthcare and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan subsidiaries asked a federal judge to slash the $184 million in lawyers fees owed after winning health plans $3.7 billion from two class-actions related to a now-expired Affordable Care Act program. More than 30 insurers wrote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for ...

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Five Important Changes For Group Health Clients In 2022

The new year brings with it changes for employers, employees, and group health insurance. Here’s information you may want to share with your clients. 2022 Health Insurance Changes 1: Increased FSA Contribution Limits The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) previously published the increased limits for contributions to Health Flexible Spending Accounts (Health FSAs) in 2022. The ...

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