To Save On Medi-Cal Costs, A Bid To Help Homeless Patients With Rent Money By Pauline Bartolone May 3, 2017 California lawmakers consider a bill to use state money to help homeless Medi-Cal patients pay rent — shifting their focus from sheer survival to wellness. The move could save taxpayers millions, advocates say.
Negotiating Drug Prices: Should State Agencies Band Together? By Pauline Bartolone April 25, 2017 A California lawmaker wants to strengthen collaboration among public agencies to bring down costs to taxpayers.
California Lawmakers Consider Mandatory Labels On Salon Products To Protect Workers By Pauline Bartolone April 20, 2017 Bill would require disclosure of potentially harmful chemicals used in hair treatments, nail polish and other substances used in salons.
Can We Tax Away The Opioid Crisis? By Pauline Bartolone April 13, 2017 Lawmakers in California, like their counterparts in Congress, are considering a tax that would pay for addiction prevention and treatment efforts.
California Lawmakers Consider Giving Regulators More Grounds To Reject Health Insurance Mergers By Pauline Bartolone April 7, 2017 Proposal would require regulators to consider a merger’s impact on competition in deciding whether to approve or reject it.
While Washington Fiddles, California Leaders Forge Ideas For Universal Health Care By Pauline Bartolone April 6, 2017 But it could take years to achieve coverage for everyone – if it happens at all.
Pre-Obamacare, Preexisting Conditions Long Vexed States And Insurers By Elana Gordon, WHYY April 26, 2017 Before the federal health law guarantee that consumers cannot be turned down because of their medical history, it was difficult to balance insurers’ needs to make a profit and individuals’ needs for coverage.
Anthem’s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries By Pauline Bartolone and Anna Gorman and Chad Terhune August 2, 2017 The nation’s second-largest insurer is shrinking its presence on Obamacare exchanges and in the broader individual market in response to prevailing uncertainty. California is just the latest — and the biggest — example.
To Save On Drug Costs, Insurer Wants To Steer You To ‘Preferred’ Pharmacies By Pauline Bartolone March 9, 2017 Blue Shield of California is hoping to steer consumers to “preferred” pharmacies where drugs are cheaper and copays lower.
Do Best-Selling Drugs That Calm Stomachs Damage Kidneys? The Answer’s Unclear. By Sydney Lupkin and Pauline Bartolone May 17, 2017 With flawed systems for tracking the side effects of prescription drugs, a link between proton pump inhibitors and kidney disease suggested by research cannot be proven. Patients who swear by the drugs hope it won’t be.
