A Bay Area legislator is trying to level the playing field among hospital chains, particularly in Northern California, where he said studies show consolidations have led to some of the highest healthcare prices for consumers and employers in the state.

Gov. Jerry Brown stuck to his skeptical view on matters of broad healthcare reform on Wednesday, dismissing the idea of a universal health care system as something akin to a financial impossibility.

Members of the House Rules Committee could take up two narrow health insurance bills next week.

With prescription drug prices soaring and President Donald Trump vowing to take action, an old idea is gaining fresh traction: allowing Americans to buy medicines from foreign pharmacies at far lower prices. A new bill in Congress to allow the practice would modify previous safety standards and remove a barrier that proved insurmountable in past attempts to enable progress.

Insurance agencies that stress “soft” benefits have the upper hand in recruiting workers in today’s competitive job market.

The Affordable Care Act’s tax penalty for people who opt out of health insurance is one of the most loathed parts of the law, so it is no surprise that Republicans are keen to abolish it. But the penalty, called the individual mandate, plays a vital function: nudging healthy people into the insurance markets where their premiums help pay for the cost of care for the sick. That has required Republican lawmakers to come up with an alternative.