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.
Open enrollment for Covered California, the state marketplace that sells subsidized health insurance to Californians who do not get insurance through their employer, begins Tuesday and ends Jan. 31.
Starting in January, Californians will be required to sign up for health insurance or face a $695 tax penalty under the new state mandate.
A new California law that reclassifies some independent contractors as employees, requiring they be offered a range of benefits and worker protections, will likely expand health insurance coverage in the state, health policy experts say.
It’s shocking how far pharmaceutical companies go to keep drug prices high. Take, for example, a tactic known as “pay for delay.” It allows pharmaceutical companies to keep cheaper generic versions of their drugs off of the market.
Managers of Covered California say participating health plans will be encouraging off-exchange enrollees who qualify for exchange subsidies to switch to exchange coverage.
In late September, the California state senate approved a bill, AB-744, that if passed would result in telehealth being reimbursed at the same rate as an in-person doctor's visit. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, and could eventually have ripple effects that touch telehealth reimbursement across the country.
State Capitol Democrats and organized labor say their new “gig” law will correct the misclassification of 1 million California workers who are falsely deemed independent contractors. But their thinking reflects a misunderstanding.
The California Health Care Foundation, working with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, urged state legislators in a report released Wednesday to take bold steps to improve the quality of Medi-Cal managed care plans.
It was a historic move: This summer, California became the first state in the country to offer free or low-cost health insurance to undocumented young adults who qualify.
Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Richard “Fig” Figueroa to be the acting director of DHCS. He takes over in the interim from Jennifer Kent, who announced her resignation last week.