State’s Move To Cover Undocumented Immigrants Follows Cost-Savings Trend

The Christian Science Monitor: Why California Wants Health Insurance For Undocumented Immigrants
The plan would formalize a strategy already employed by states and counties across the country that have a large population of undocumented immigrants. In March, The Wall Street Journal noted that many such areas have instituted preventative care programs for the low-income uninsured that don’t ask about patients’ immigration status, with some county politicians calculating that such programs are both cheaper and more effective than leaving treatment for emergency rooms. (Iaconangelo, 9/15)

Sacramento Business Journal: Covered California For Small Business Rates To Rise
Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, announced a 5.9 percent rate increase for its small-business plans. The increase, which is a statewide weighted average, will take effect Jan. 1. It is lower than last year's 7.2 percent increase for plans under the small-business program, known as Covered California for Small Business. The program is available to businesses with up to 100 employees. (Anderson, 9/15)

In national news on the health law —

Politico: Obama Steps In To Save Obamacare
Deep into the final year of his presidency, Barack Obama is working behind the scenes to secure Obamacare’s legacy, struggling to bolster a program whose ultimate success or failure will likely be determined by his successor. With no lifeline coming from the divided Congress, Obama and his administration are redoubling their pleas for insurers to shore up the federal health care law and pushing uninsured Americans — especially younger ones — to sign up for coverage. The administration is nervously preparing for its final Obamacare open-enrollment season just a week before Election Day, amid a cascade of headlines about rising premiums, fleeing insurers and narrowing insurance options. (Demko, 9/16)