When the new health insurance exchanges opened for business one year ago, whether they would succeed was a matter of fervent debate.

California's health insurance exchange has awarded $184 million in contracts without the competitive bidding and oversight that is standard practice across state government, including deals that sent millions of dollars to a firm whose employees have long-standing ties to the agency's executive director.

A majority of the state’s voters support extending current health insurance programs to all low-income Californians, including undocumented immigrants, according to a new statewide poll released today.

Two new leaders of the Legislature discussing the direction of state programs and finances yesterday hit on health care topics a number of times.

Californians, especially those in Los Angeles County, endure longer waits in hospital emergency rooms than most Americans.

Wal-Mart announced Monday that it will dive deeper into the health-care market, unveiling an initiative to allow customers to compare and enroll in health insurance plans in thousands of its stores.