Last night, the California Budget Conference Committee voted on a budget proposal that reflected a deal between the Governor and Legislature, including investments in health services with additional steps to universal coverage. As a result of this budget, hundreds of thousands of Californians will get more help to access and afford health coverage, preventing premium […] Read More
Legislation Protecting Patients From Surprise Emergency Room Bills Passes CA State Assembly
May 30, 2019The California State Assembly passed AB 1611 by Assemblymember David Chiu and Senator Scott Wiener to end surprise emergency room bills on a 48-9 vote. AB 1611 is a key patient protection that would also lower the costs of health care for California consumers. The bill faced opposition from industry lobbyists who argued that the status quo […] Read More
Advocates Encourage Lawmakers to Make Budget Investments that Help the Most Californians
May 22, 2019Last week the Assembly voted on its proposed budget investments in health and human services, while the previous week, the Senate proposed to expand Medi-Cal and to help middle-income Californians better afford premiums in Covered California and the individual insurance market. Both build on Governor Newsom’s 2019-2020 May Revision that includes first-in-nation steps toward universal coverage. See […] Read More
State Senate Includes Greater Affordability Assistance in Budget
May 21, 2019Last week the Assembly has voted on its proposed budget investments in health and human services, while last week, the Senate proposed to expand Medi-Cal and to help middle-income Californians better afford premiums in Covered California and the individual insurance market. Both build on Governor Newsom’s 2019-2020 May Revision that includes first-in-nation steps toward universal coverage. After […] Read More
Pending CA Legislative Proposals Would Secure & Expand Coverage and Lower Premiums For Over 3.5 Million
May 20, 2019A new brief by the UC Berkeley Labor Center and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is the first of its kind to model the health coverage impacts of pending legislation in the California State Legislature. The report finds that under the current legislative and budget proposals 1.7 million Californians would be enrolled in coverage instead of […] Read More
CA Legislature Advances Key Proposals to Expand Coverage and Save Consumers Millions
May 16, 2019Key legislation to make health care more affordable passed fiscal committees in the California Legislature, setting up high-stakes floor votes and budget negotiations in the next few weeks. The proposals would expand health coverage, increase affordability for hundreds of thousands of Californians, and reduce health care costs overall, and are all supported by the #Care4AllCA […] Read More
Newsom’s #CABudget May Revision Sets Up Further Health Care Negotiations with Legislature
May 9, 2019On Thursday, May 9th, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the May Revision of his proposed 2019-2020 budget which continues to include first-in-nation steps toward universal coverage including enhanced affordability assistance in Covered California, continuing the ACA’s individual requirement for coverage at the state level, and general fund investment to expand Medi-Cal to low-income young adults up […] Read More
Legislation Protecting Patients From Surprise Emergency Room Bills Passes Assembly Health Committee
April 24, 2019The California State Assembly Health Committee yesterday passed AB 1611 by Assemblymember David Chiu and Senator Scott Wiener to end surprise emergency room bills on a 11-0 vote. After an emergency room visit, some California patients still receive a “balance bill” which is the difference between what the hospital charged for the service and what the […] Read More
On 100th Day, Governor Newsom Announces New Partner on Prescription Drug Purchasing Pool
April 17, 2019On his 100th day in office, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a partnership with Los Angeles County on prescription drug purchasing, putting together the power of the country’s biggest state and county for the biggest discounts and lower prices needed for medications. The State of California and Los Angeles County buy drugs for similar purposes and […] Read More
Last Week in CA Health: Coverage and Affordability Expansions Pass Key Policy & Budget Committees
April 16, 2019California’s movement towards universal health care took a major step forward last week when California legislators advanced a number of major proposals to expand health coverage and increase affordability for hundreds of thousands of Californians. The bills and budget proposals that were passed would reduce costs in our health care system while also improving quality […] Read More