The Affordable Care Act of course affected premiums and insurance purchasing.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul said he’s drafting legislation for a health care insurance plan that could replace the Affordable Care Act, which he calls Obamacare, including a provision to “legalize” the sale of inexpensive insurance policies that provide abbreviated coverage.

Grappling with a backlash against high U.S. prescription drug prices, more pharmaceutical companies are pledging to limit annual increases to under 10 percent - but the tactic is doing little to salve critics, including President-elect Donald Trump, who on Wednesday said drugmakers are "getting away with murder."

Nearly 30 years ago, consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield wrote and helped qualify Proposition 103, the November 1988 ballot measure that overhauled state regulation of home and auto insurance rates.

The drug industry is just wrapping up what looked like an upbeat week here at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, where all of the healthcare industry's biggest executives come every year to court investors and negotiate deals.

Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget shows continued support for California's Medicaid program as talks of a repeal of the Affordable Care Act gain momentum.