Today marks the beginning of Covered California’s open enrollment. With hundreds of millions of dollars in new financial assistance now available for Californians, it caps off a landmark year for health reform in California. Despite the best efforts of the Trump Administration to sabotage our health care, California has taken bold action not just to […] Read More
Governor Newsom Signs AB 824 to Lower Prescription Drug Costs in First Health Care Bill Signing Event
October 8, 2019California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed the biggest prescription drug price bill of the year, intended to lower prescription drug prices for California consumers by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. During the first-ever health care bill signing event under the new Administration, Newsom signed AB 824, authored by Assemblymember Wood and sponsored by Attorney General […] Read More
NEW REPORT: CA Compromise to Stop Surprise Medical Bills is Working and is the Best Solution for a Federal Fix
September 26, 2019A Health Access report released today highlights new data showing the success of California’s compromise solution to stop surprise medical bills. The report demonstrates how AB 72, signed into law three years ago, has been successful in protecting patients from surprise bills which occur when patients go to an in-network hospital or facility but then […] Read More
2018 Census Data Shows CA Uninsured Rate Holds Steady Despite National Increase
September 10, 2019After years of decline after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), new 2018 Census data released today shows the first national increase in the uninsured rate since 2013, with the rate going up from 7.9% to 8.5%, or by 1.9 million Americans to 27.5 million. By contrast, California’s uninsured rate has held steady at 7.2%, lower than […] Read More
Trump Launches New Attack on Our Care
August 13, 2019The Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security has released a final rule penalizing lawfully present immigrants and their families for seeking needed health care. This harmful rule, which will go into effect on October 15th barring any legal action, will have major impacts across our entire health care system. This cruel attack isn’t just on […] Read More
In a Win for Consumers, AG Becerra Announces $70 Million Pay-For-Delay Settlement
July 29, 2019California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced four settlements totaling nearly $70 million in payments against pharmaceutical companies for participating in harmful “pay-for-delay” deals that keep lower-priced generic medications off the market for longer, reducing competition and arbitrarily keeping life-saving medications more expensive for consumers. According to the AG, this is the largest settlement of […] Read More
CoveredCA Regional Rates for 2020 Show Substantial Savings Available with New Subsides & Shopping Around
July 23, 2019Last week, Covered California released a detailed breakdown of rate changes in 19 regions across the state. Earlier this month, Covered California announced that Californians will only see an average premium rate increase of less than 1% – the lowest change in the exchange’s history. This new detailed information shows that at least three regions […] Read More
CoveredCA Announces Minimal Rate Increase Due to State Steps to Shore Up and Expand Upon the ACA
July 9, 2019Covered California announced today that 2020 individual insurance premiums will see a minimal average rate increase of less than one percent. The announcement also highlights the expected increase in health insurance enrollment of over 225,000 Californians due to the new financial help that was included in the 2019-2020 state budget negotiated last month. These minimal […] Read More
#CABudget Votes This Week Include Major Health Investments and Expansions
June 25, 2019This week, the Assembly and Senate are poised to pass key health expansions as part of the overall 2019-20 Budget. The votes taken today and this week will advance health care reforms that were negotiated by the Governor and legislative leaders. Governor Newsom has until July 1 to sign the budget, which will make official […] Read More
New #CABudget Deal To Help Hundreds of Thousands with Health Coverage
June 10, 2019Last 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