Latest California Healthline Stories
State Junks $179 Million Medi-Cal IT System, Will Start From Scratch
Legal settlement is reached with system contractor Xerox after attempt at modernization falls years behind schedule.
Covered California Imposes New Quality, Cost Conditions On Plans
In a sweeping overhaul of its contracts, the state’s insurance exchange will require health plans to hold doctors and hospitals accountable for quality and cost.
Prices And Health Care Quality: Many Consumers Don’t See A Link
A study in the journal Health Affairs found a majority of people don’t associate price and quality in health care services. The study provides useful information for health care organizations that are trying to understand how people make choices and developing consumer tools, says the UCSF professor who led the research.
This Family Says No To Medi-Cal, But A Computer Won’t Listen
Some families may have difficulty removing eligible children from Medi-Cal and consolidating everyone’s coverage under a single health plan.
Major Employers Decry Sutter Health’s Tactics In Dispute Over Prices
Sutter Health, with dominant market share in Northern California, is insisting that employers sign arbitration agreements or face sharply higher out-of-network rates.
Anthem-Cigna Merger Proposal Takes A Grilling
The state insurance commissioner and consumer advocates expressed skepticism at a hearing on the huge insurance deal.
Mortgages For Expensive Health Care? Some Experts Think It Can Work.
An MIT economist and Harvard oncologist propose offering loans to patients to cover the cost of expensive, curative drugs, financed by private sector investment in loan securities.
Big Insurance Deal Under Scrutiny in California
Anthem and Cigna must persuade insurance commissioner Dave Jones their proposed $54 billion mega-merger is a good thing.
State Regulators Green Light $6.8 Billion Health Insurance Merger
On Tuesday, the two agencies regulating health insurance in California approved the $6.8 billion acquisition of Health Net by Centene Corp., clearing away the final hurdle to the deal.
$6.8 Billion Health Insurance Merger Clears First State Hurdle
The Department of Managed Health Care approves the sale of Health Net to Centene. Next up: the Department of Insurance.