California Poised To Ban ‘Junk’ Short-Term Health Plans In Push-Back Against Trump Administration
"These plans can bankrupt people," said state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa). "They're junk. It's a huge threat." Gov. Jerry Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.
Sacramento Bee:
California Health Care Bills Would Blunt Trump’s Actions
California is poised to become the first state in the nation to ban cheap, short-term health insurance plans pushed by the Trump administration as a low-cost alternative to Obamacare. New federal rules, finalized Aug. 1, allow insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and institute annual and lifetime caps on how much money they are required to spend on covered benefits over the course of a year or the life of a plan. (Hart, 9/4)
California Healthline:
Lawmakers Push To Protect Patients And Counter Trump
California lawmakers this year played offense and defense on health care, adopting bills to give patients more access to care and medications, while defending Californians against Trump administration attacks on the Affordable Care Act. As they raced toward their Friday deadline to pass bills, legislators voted to make the abortion pill available to students on public college campuses, and to stop hospitals from discharging homeless patients onto the streets. (Young, 9/4)
Also out of Sacramento —
Los Angeles Times:
California Legislator Shelves Bill To Ban Paid 'Gay Conversion Therapy' For Adults
The author of a high-profile measure to curb paid “conversion therapy,” which purports to change a person’s sexual orientation, said he is shelving his bill Friday in hopes of finding consensus with religious communities that vigorously opposed the proposal. The bill by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), which would have designated paid “conversion therapy” services as a fraudulent business practice under the state’s consumer protection law, easily cleared prior legislative hurdles thanks to large Democratic majorities in both chambers, as well as a handful of Republican votes. (Mason, 8/31)