The pharmaceutical industry, under fire this election season for rising drug prices, is ramping up a new advertising campaign designed to improve its reputation with lawmakers as it lobbies against any effort to rein in prescription costs.

President Barack Obama will propose tailoring the controversial "Cadillac tax" on expensive private health insurance plans to reflect regional differences when he releases his 2017 budget plan next week, a senior White House adviser said in an article released on Wednesday.

The regulation of health insurance in California is shifting dramatically toward the Department of Managed Health Care, whose share of the commercial market has mushroomed in recent years.

The California Legislature on Monday unveiled a bill imposing a new tax on health insurance plans that would prevent a massive $1.1 billion hole in the state budget.

More than 425,000 Californians have signed up on the state’s health insurance exchange — with nearly 100,000 rushing to enroll in the last four days before the 2016 open enrollment period ended Jan. 31, officials said Thursday.

Parker Conrad, CEO and co-founder of once high-flying Zenefits, has resigned amid a scandal involving allegations that employees sold insurance without holding proper licenses to do so.