Original article published by California Healthline on September 8, 2015. The state Legislature has passed a bill (AB 187) that would delay the planned shift of some children in the California Children’s Services program to Medi-Cal managed care plans, Kaiser Health News reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry… Continue reading Bill To Delay Retooling of Children’s Services Program Goes to Brown

By Dan Diamond for Califonia Healthline By sheer number of covered lives, Kaiser Permanente has been California’s largest health insurer for decades. But if Anthem gets its way — no longer. The Indianapolis-based insurer is currently the second-largest health insurer in the Golden State, and one of the three largest health insurers in the nation. Its planned… Continue reading What the Anthem-Cigna Mega-Merger Could Mean for California

Medical giant Cedars-Sinai Health System said Tuesday it has acquired nearby Marina Del Rey Hospital, adding to a flurry of similar healthcare deals. Cedars-Sinai said it has purchased the 145-bed hospital and its neighboring medical office building. The price wasn’t disclosed. Marina Del Rey Hospital will operate as an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai and continue to… Continue reading Cedars-Sinai Buys Marina Del Rey Hospital Amid Healthcare Merger Wave

Originally Posted by California Healthline Although California has been one of the most “proactive” states in attempting to ensure timely access to mental health care, the state still has struggled to enforce compliance of the federal mental health parity law, Kaiser Health News reports (Gold, Kaiser Health News, 8/13). Background Under the 2008 federal mental… Continue reading Calif. Managed Care Plans Struggle To Achieve Mental Health Parity

By Dan Gorenstein for Marketplace Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee is wearing a big smile these days. “We’ve turned expectations on their head and delivered affordable rates for all Californians,” he says. “That’s a big deal.” Lee is excited because for two years in a row, premium increases on California’s healthcare exchange are about 4… Continue reading California Leads in Lowering Health Insurance Premiums

Family caregivers in California and other states provided about $470 billion in unpaid care in 2013, according to a study by AARP, CNBC reports. The estimate was based on caregivers providing an average of 18 hours of care per week valued at about $12.51 per hour. The value was calculated using median home health aide… Continue reading Study: Calif. Caregivers Provided $57B in Unpaid Care in 2013

California has enrolled nearly three times as many consumers as expected in Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of the program, placing financial strain on the state as the federal government begins reducing matching funds, the AP/Salinas Californian reports (Lin, AP/Salinas Californian, 7/19). Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. More than a dozen other states… Continue reading Medi-Cal Enrollment Growth Could Strain California’s Budget

In a scathing audit, state tax officials slammed nonprofit health insurer Blue Shield of California for stockpiling “extraordinarily high surpluses” — more than $4 billion — and for failing to offer more affordable coverage or other public benefits. The California Franchise Tax Board cited those reasons, among others, for revoking Blue Shield’s state tax exemption… Continue reading California Tax Officials Blast Blue Shield In Audit

The seeming reluctance by state officials to closely monitor Medi-Cal managed care plans is troubling, said Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Reacting to a June report from the California State Auditor’s office that criticized the Department of Health Care Services for lax oversight of Medi-Cal managed care plans, Kominski said the… Continue reading Auditor’s Report Shows ‘Symbiotic Relationship’ In Medi-Cal Managed Care

By Chad Terhune for the Los Angeles Times California’s health insurance exchange wants to know why you got sick this summer. With 1.4 million people enrolled, the state-run marketplace is embarking on an ambitious effort to collect insurance company data on prescriptions, doctor visits and hospital stays for every Obamacare patient. Covered California says this massive… Continue reading California’s Obamacare Exchange to Collect Insurance Data on Patients