Besides a special session on Medi-Cal, the big health care issue waiting action by lawmakers when they return from summer recess today is the high cost of new specialized prescription drugs.

The debate over new taxes and fees - a dominant theme in the final weeks of the legislative session - kicked off Monday, with some Democratic lawmakers calling for a new tax on health insurance plans to pay for Medi-Cal and other social services.

More info coming soon.

For years, Republicans have openly pined for pushing Medicare further into the private sector.

This week, President Obama signed into law a bill (HR 2514) by a California lawmaker that seeks to help veterans save money to cover health care expenses, the Lake County Record-Bee reports.

Some consumers who got health coverage or subsidies through HealthCare.gov might not have been eligible to receive them last year because of deficiencies in the federal exchange’s internal controls, according to a government report likely to further stoke Republican criticism.