On March 23, 2020, we mark the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Especially at this moment, we are grateful for the improvements in our health system that were sorely needed and now help at at time like this. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, California’s health system would be much less […]
California Before 10 Years of the ACA
Especially given all that is going on in our health system, it is time to stop re-litigating a health law signed ten years ago, especially one that has shown so much proven success. California is proof of how much our health system has transformed. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, California was the national poster […]
Toward a More Stable & Affordable Health Insurance Market: Continuing the “Individual Mandate in California
To Counter #TrumpSabotage, CA Legislature Must Pass Ban on Junk Insurance
Yesterday, the Trump Administration’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a final rule to extend the use of short-term health insurance plans from the current three-month span to a full year, with renewals for up to three years. You can’t much call them “short-term” anymore. Following this announcement, California consumer advocates are urging the […]
As Trump Administration Seeks To Promote “Junk” Insurance, California Legislation Would Ban Such Substandard Coverage
On February 20, 2018 the Trump Administration’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to extend the use of so-called “short-term” health insurance plans from three months to a year, and otherwise promote the use of these substandard “junk” policies that would not follow Affordable Care Act consumer protections. Such “short-term” plans […]
Trump Executive Order Undermines Insurance Markets, But California Can Take Steps to Protect Coverage & Affordability
Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order that threatens to undermine insurance markets around the country. It directs federal agencies to craft rules allowing broader use of Association Health Plans and short-term health insurance, creating large loopholes in the Affordable Care Act’s requirements around minimum benefits and protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Consumer and health […]
New Bill (SB 133) Helps California Patients Losing Health Plan & Provider Coverage Due to Federal Uncertainty
SB 133 protects consumers’ continuity of care
Why California’s Past Shows the Danger of #AHCA & the MacArthur Amendment
(From our longtime policy advocate Beth Capell): As we have listened to people in town halls and legislative hearings about the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), we have been struck time and again by how vividly consumers remember the pre-ACA world. What they say is some version of “I didn’t have the […]
Highlights from Covered CA Board Meeting December 15, 2014
Today’s tight two-hour meeting featured a much anticipated presentation on benefit designs for 2016, an enrollment update, and a surprise announcement: that this meeting would be California Endowment Chief Executive Dr. Bob Ross’s last as a member of the Covered California Board. Dr. Ross’s’ valuable contributions to the Board’s discussions since he was appointed by […]
New Energy At Covered California’s Marketing/Outreach Advisory Group
With only two weeks to go until Covered California open enrollment, it’s no wonder it was standing room only at today’s Marketing, Outreach, and Enrollment Assistance Advisory Group (MOEA) meeting at Covered California headquarters. Chaired by Health Access’ own Anthony Wright, it has been restructured:instead of separate committees representing communities of color groupings (African American, […]