Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) supports holding hearings on "Medicare for all," her spokesman said Thursday, marking a major step forward for supporters of a single-payer health system.

Even when patients go out of their way to find hospitals and labs in their insurance network, they might end up getting treated by an out-of-network specialist.

Hoping to empower consumers who are shouldering more and more of their health care costs each year, the federal government this year is requiring hospitals across the country to post their standard price lists on their websites.

Specialty drugs made up about 3% of prescriptions in California in 2017 but accounted for more than half of the prescription drug spending that year, according to new report that compiled drug spending from nine insurers in that state.

Each of the seven California Democrats who flipped Republican congressional seats in the midterm election campaigned for more government-funded health care — with most of them calling for a complete government takeover.

On his first day in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a sweeping health care plan that would prop up the Affordable Care Act, expand health care for undocumented immigrants and give the state new powers to negotiate drug prices.