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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.

Covered California Individual Premiums Update

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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Hospitals Block ‘Surprise Billing’ Measure

Citing fierce pushback from hospitals, California lawmakers sidelined a bill Wednesday that would have protected some patients from surprise medical bills by limiting how much hospitals could charge them for emergency care.

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Sutter Health and Blue Shield of California Renew Agreement, Extending Their Network Relationship in a Multi-Year Deal

Blue Shield of California and Sutter Health have signed a new multi-year agreement giving the nonprofit health plan members uninterrupted access to Sutter’s integrated network in Northern California.

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California Is 1st State To Offer Health Benefits To Adult Undocumented Immigrants

California has become the first state in the country to offer government-subsidized health benefits to young adults living in the U.S. illegally.

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California to Pay Off $10.5M in Student Debt – Giving Poor Patients Greater Access to Dentists

The state of California is paying off $10.5 million in student loans for 40 dentists who agree to ensure that 30 percent of their patient caseload is made up of Medi-Cal patients – among the state’s poorest and frailest residents.

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Kamala Harris Wants the Federal Government to Set the Price of Some Drugs to Lower Costs

Washington (CNN)Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris unveiled a plan on Tuesday that authorizes the federal government to set the rates for certain prescription drugs as a way to lower prices.

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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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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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