Health Care
Back to homepage
Study: CA Obamacare clients struggle with cost
In May 2013, Covered California officials faced sharp criticism over claims that premiums would actually go down for many health insurance purchasers. Forbes.com’s Avik Roy wrote that the agency implementing the Golden State’s version of Obamacare needed to look at
Read More
House votes to repeal medical device tax
In a bipartisan vote of 280-140, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 160, dubbed the “Protect Medical Innovation Act,” which essentially repeals Obamacare’s 2.3 percent medical device tax. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a prepared statement:
Read More
Gov. Brown seeks ‘permanent’ funding for Medi-Cal, infrastructure
In announcing the budget deal with the Legislature, Governor Jerry Brown announced two special sessions to deal with transportation and Medi-Cal funding. Call them the “special tax sessions.” In the press release announcing the sessions, the governor stated that the sessions were to
Read More
Covered California suffers financial drought
California’s health insurance exchange is running out of money, and without federal grant assistance, may go bottom-up in the near future. Last week, Covered California released its June budget revision, unveiling a $335 million budget, up $2 million from a
Read More
Medi-Cal boom strains doctors and budgets
With Medicaid eligibility expanded nationwide under the Affordable Care Act, Medi-Cal enrollees have discovered that care in California is not keeping up with increased demand. “Today, more than 12 million Californians, nearly one-third of the state’s total population, are enrolled in the
Read More
CA assisted suicide bill advances
With doctors’ groups divided, legislation that would authorize assisted suicide cleared a key hurdle in Sacramento, triggering a fresh round of controversy. Senate Bill 128, the so-called “End of Life Option Act,” was introduced earlier this year by state Sens. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, and
Read More
CA Senate votes to hike smoking age
Adding another bill to its reputation as a trend-setting Legislature, Sacramento has taken a big step toward raising the statewide smoking age to 21. By an overwhelming tally of 26 to 8, the state Senate voted to prohibit sales of
Read More
Covered CA struggles to meet expectations
“This issue of making health care affordable is not easy.” It probably wasn’t what Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, hoped to announce in the exchange’s second year. But the remarks came on the heels of a new survey
Read More
Medi-Cal paradox creating problems for both doctors and patients
California’s health program for the poor and disabled, Medi-Cal, has presented state lawmakers with quite a perplexing paradox. More and more people fall under the protection of Medi-Cal and need a doctor but fewer and fewer doctors are accepting the
Read More