Elevating the urgency of health care access for all communities, Senators Ricardo Lara and Maria Elena Durazo, and Assemblymembers Dr. Joaquin Arambula, Rob Bonta, and David Chiu introduced two #Health4All bills on the first official day of the new 2019 legislative session. The two bills, SB 29 and AB 4, are a top priority for […] Read More
Health Access 2018 Legislative Scorecard: Health Consumer Champions Revealed
November 29, 2018After a productive year in Sacramento where progress was made on health care, Health Access California released its 2018 Legislative Scorecard. The report details how policymakers voted on key bills to protect patients, expand coverage, and increase oversight on insurers, the health industry, and prescription drug prices. Coming off an election focused on health care, […] Read More
New Report: California’s Historic Health Coverage Gains at Risk Without State Action
November 27, 2018Today, the UC Berkeley Labor Center and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research released a report titled “California’s Health Coverage Gains to Erode Without Further State Action” detailing the negative state-level impacts of the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate. Researchers find that because of the removal of the requirement to have health insurance, […] Read More
Merger Watch Update: Dignity Health-Catholic Health Initiatives and CVS-Aetna
November 26, 2018Consolidation in the health industry often means fewer choices and less competition, with little to no benefit for patients or the public. Health care companies should not be allowed to get bigger unless they get better. In California, the top five insurers already control over 90% of the market. Health Access closely monitors mergers and advocates […] Read More
Midterms 2018: The Health Care Election
November 8, 2018Voters prioritized health issues, supported candidates that vow to protect our health care, and elected a Governor that campaigned on a plan to expand access to care On Tuesday, voters sent a clear, unambiguous message to their elected officials: protect our health care against the repeals and rollbacks attempted over the last two years, and […] Read More
CVS-Aetna Merger Approved With Conditions, As California Seeks Stronger Oversight
October 11, 2018Today, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger of CVS Health and Aetna, continuing the trend of “diagonal” mergers, and the further consolidation of mega-health care corporations. CVS, a major pharmacy chain and one of the nations largest independent pharmacy benefit managers (PBM), and Aetna, one of the nations largest insurers, consolidates the health […] Read More
Proposition 5 is Bad For Our Health
October 4, 2018Proposition 5 on the November 2018 ballot is a grave threat to Californians health care. According to the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office, Prop 5 will result in an initial cut of hundreds of millions of dollars to California counties, and ultimately a billion dollars per year. Our counties are a major provider many vital services. […] Read More
Governor Brown Signs Key Health Bills from the Care4All CA Campaign
October 1, 2018As California Governor Jerry Brown wraps up the end of the bill-signing period at the Capitol, the Care4All California campaign announced and celebrated eight priority bills signed by Governor Brown that get California closer to the goal of a more affordable, accountable, and universal health care system. Under California’s implementation and improvement of the Affordable Care […] Read More
Cliff Allenby: A Health Care Leader We Could Rely On
September 26, 2018We note with sadness the passing of Cliff Allenby, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, former head of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (aka MrMIB), former head of departments without number. As a number of Governors, including the current (and former) Governor Brown note in the Sacramento Bee, he was a true public […] Read More
Governor Brown Signs Bills To Protect California’s Health System, While Trump Administration Launches New Attack on Immigrant Families
September 25, 2018Over the weekend, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation to protect Californians from the harm caused by Congressional and the Trump Administration’s actions to undermine our health care coverage and consumer protections. Many bills were a priority for the Care4All California campaign of over 50 organizations. Governor Brown was right to sign these bills to shield consumers […] Read More