Health Care

Commission investigates Denti-Cal problems

Half of California’s children are reliant for their oral hygiene on Denti-Cal, a state-run dental care system that has failed miserably. A state audit report in December 2014 chronicled the California Department of Health Care Services’ years of dental neglect

Anthem-Cigna deal tightens CA health care market

James Poulos July 31, 2015

Anthem has made public its plans to acquire Cigna, tightening further California’s already narrow market for health insurance. “In a deal that would create the nation’s largest health insurer by enrollment, Anthem announced Friday that it made a $48 billion bid for rival Cigna,

Critics warn drug mandate will increase health care costs

Dave Roberts July 28, 2015

A prescription drug bill, Assembly Bill 339, would save money for many with chronic medical conditions. But critics warn that it also will increase insurance premiums for everyone else and make it harder for insurers to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies

Medi-Cal boom squeezes CA health care

James Poulos July 27, 2015

Although California officials insisted that expanding Medi-Cal coverage has been an economic boon, critics and Sacramento Republicans warned that the program’s staggering growth has created a costly, nettlesome problem for a state already strapped with challenges. The Golden State has seen

Dem split stalls right-to-die bill

James Poulos July 5, 2015

Under pressure from powerful faith-based constituencies, Southern California Democrats serving in the Assembly have broken rank with their party and halted its so-called “right-to-die bill,” which cleared the Senate early last month. Unanticipated opposition “The state Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday postponed

CA expands health entitlements

James Poulos July 3, 2015

As California included some unlawful immigrants in Medi-Cal, its version of the Medicaid program, a new study suggested that, nationwide, that population is holding down the costs of health entitlements. The findings promised to sharpen the debate over immigration reform and its connection to

Brown signs vax bill, drawing lawsuit vow

James Poulos July 1, 2015

As Gov. Jerry Brown signed a tough new vaccination bill into law, its vociferous opponents — who had fought the measure tooth and nail — vowed to sue the state and rally voters against it. Senate Bill 277 “requires almost all California schoolchildren

Critics question costs under Covered California

James Poulos June 26, 2015

As the fate of the Affordable Care Act hung in the balance at the Supreme Court, bipartisan concern swirled around how Covered California is affecting the Golden State’s costs of care. “After surpassing its first year goal by 400,000 — signing

Mandatory vaccination bill clears Legislature

Josephine Djuhana June 25, 2015

The mandatory vaccine bill, SB277, passed the state Assembly on a 46-30 vote during a Thursday hearing. Proponents of the bill say the passage is a victory for science and public health, while opponents decry the bill’s infringement upon parental

CA Medical Board in new flap over painkillers

Chris Reed June 21, 2015

The Medical Board of California, which licenses physicians and responds to complaints about incompetence or misconduct, suffered an extraordinary rebuke in 2013 after legislative hearings exposed poor follow-through in responding to allegations that some doctors had a dangerous history of