Exchange Success Helps Nudge First Budget Near a Half-Billion Dollars
Those 1.2 million exchange enrollees came at a price. Covered California ran quite a bit over budget this year in part because of the tremendous success of exchange and Medi-Cal enrollment efforts.
Emotions Run High Over Senate Bill To Restructure Exchange Board
A Senate committee came close last week to rejecting a bill to expand the size of the Covered California board of directors even though the measure didn’t have official opposition.
Bills To Raise Medi-Cal Provider Rates Unanimously Pass First Hurdle
A bill to increase Medi-Cal primary care provider rates to Medicare reimbursement levels was unanimously approved by the Assembly Health Committee this week. A companion bill reversing cuts in Medi-Cal payments also passed unanimously.
How a Legal Decision in Florida Might Affect California’s Autism Therapy Policy
A debate about autism treatment policy in a California Senate hearing today could be influenced by a court ruling in Florida.
Should California Strengthen School Immunization Rules?
We asked stakeholders how California legislators and policymakers should respond to two growing trends: the number of kindergartners starting school without standard vaccinations and an increase in communicable diseases like measles and whooping cough.
How California Took the ‘Lead’ on Obamacare — and Why It’s Too Early To Take a Victory Lap
One-point-four million sign-ups on the insurance exchange. One-point-nine million Medicaid enrollees. When it comes to raw Obamacare enrollment figures, no other state comes close to California. The state has claimed its role as the lead car, but it’s still on the first lap of a multiyear race, experts say.
Assembly Health Committee Votes for More Primary Care Residency Slots
One response to the problem of too few primary care physicians in California is to increase the number of residency slots in underserved areas, according to a bill approved unanimously by the Assembly Committee on Health yesterday.
Advocates Roll Out Plan for Uninsured
At an Assembly hearing yesterday, advocates floated a proposal for a state-funded program to provide health insurance for the undocumented population in California.
Changes Coming in California Medical Labs
California’s new partnership with a private accreditation organization — believed to be the first of its kind in the country — is one of several changes in store for clinical laboratories.
Exchange Spends More Than Expected on Enrollment, Retention System
The Covered California board last week approved a fiscal year 2013-2014 budget about $88 million higher than the initial $400 million spending plan for the insurance exchange, largely because the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment and Retention System cost about $112 million more than expected.