We at Health Access California are shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan, a friend and former Assemblymember and chair of the Assembly Health Committee. A champion on health care and so much more, she was smart and savvy, wonky and wise, principled and pragmatic. She was our author for many righteous fights for coverage expansion and consumer protection, including the Hospital Fair Pricing Act, which saved uninsured and uninsured patients from having to pay inflated hospital charges multiple times what insurers or Medicare pay. She was hit by a car when walking her beloved dog Maggie, and appropriately rushed to Highland, the county hospital she championed. She had big plans and had so much […] Read More
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2021-22 CA Budget Takes Major Steps to a More Universal & Equitable Health Care System
July 19, 2021The State Legislature passed the final 2021-2022 health budget bill (AB 133) that includes historic investments in expanding and improving health coverage for millions of Californians. It now goes to Governor Newsom for his final signature in the coming days. Many of the proposals included in this budget bill were key priorities of the Care4All California coalition of over 70 consumer, community, labor, progressive, and health care organizations working to advance the goal of quality affordable health care for all Californians as soon as possible. The coalition supported these investments which, working together, represent important steps to a more universal, equitable, and affordable health care system in California. These organizations pushed for key proposals to improve Medi-Cal and reduce health care disparities for low-income […] Read More
Top Health Care Leaders Announce Broad, Diverse Coalition in Support of Governor’s New Office of Health Care Affordability
March 10, 2020
A large and unlikely coalition of health care stakeholders has come together to announce their support of Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan for a new Office of Health Care Affordability, leading up to the proposal’s first hearings in the Assembly & Senate Budget Subcommittees on Health & Human Services this week. As Californians face an affordability crisis on many fronts, the new proposed Office is a bold, far-reaching effort to address the rising cost of care that is taking a bigger and bigger bite out of workers’ wages and family finances, forcing many people to skip or ration their care. This new Office would put in place a comprehensive strategy to contain health care costs, setting targets for affordability with accountability, and […] Read More
New Bills Aim to Lower Costs and Improve Affordability Assistance in Covered California
February 21, 2020This week, California legislators announced two new bills to help more Californians struggling to afford health care coverage for themselves or their family. AB 2347 by Assemblymember Wood, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee and SB 65 by Senator Pan, Chair of the Senate Health Committee. These bills provide new investments to enhance federal and state subsides in Covered California and will continue to lower premiums and help many low-income Californians who still face barriers to care due to costs, particularly through copays and deductibles. While no additional Covered California affordability assistance has been included in Governor Newsom’s current 2020-2021 budget, these legislative bills would provide needed financial relief to many Californians who still find it difficult to afford their health care coverage in […] Read More
CoveredCA Increase in Enrollment Numbers Due in Large Part to Enhanced Subsides and Individual Mandate
February 19, 2020Yesterday, Covered California released new enrollment numbers, detailing an overall enrollment of 1,539,000 for 2020 which includes 418,000 new enrollees. This represents a 41% increase over 2019 due in large part to new state subsides enacted this year along with the new requirement to have coverage. To encourage even greater enrollment, Covered California also announced a new special enrollment period, going through April 30th, for those that did not know about the new subsides or the tax penalty for not having health coverage. Health consumer advocates urge the Legislature and the Governor to build on these successes and further reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs in the new year in order to get our state closer to the goal of universal […] Read More
New CHCF Poll: Increasing Number of Californians Struggle to Pay for Health Care and Over Half Have Delayed Due to Cost
February 13, 2020
The California Health Care Foundation has released a new poll showing that Californians are increasingly worried about the rising cost of health care, and want the state to take action. The poll, which surveyed a representative sample of Californians, also found that over half of Californians have postponed or skipped care due to cost. Results from the survey are also compared to a 2019 CHCF poll on the same topics to identify emerging trends. Specifically, more than eight in 10 or 84% Californians think addressing health care affordability should be an extremely or very important priority for the Governor and Legislature in 2020. Just over half of Californians or 51% skipped or postponed physical or mental health care due to cost. […] Read More
Remembering Beth Abbott, Deluxe Patient Advocate
January 29, 2020
We at Health Access, along with the wider California Capitol community and nationwide health care policy and consumer advocacy community, were saddened to hear yesterday that our dear colleague and friend Beth Abbott passed away this weekend. Beth served as the Director of Administrative Advocacy at Health Access California for nearly nine years, after a long and distinguished career in federal service, including as Regional Administrator for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. She left us when she was appointed by Governor Brown to direct the Office of the Patient Advocate. She retired (again) a few years ago, but was still active in the community. She was scheduled to be re-appointed to the Yolo County Health Council today; instead, the […] Read More
New California Budget Takes Key Step to Expand Access and Increase Affordability in Health Care
January 13, 2020Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom officially unveiled his 2020-2021 State Budget, which includes major new investments in access to health coverage and to lower health care costs. The 2020-2021 $222 billion state budget ($153 billion general fund), includes first-in-the-nation investments towards universal coverage and cost containment. The budget also includes ambitious efforts to prevent inflated health care prices for public programs, private payers, and patients overall, such as a new Office of Health Care Affordability, specific initiatives on prescription drug prices and more. The budget also includes improvements and expanded services in Medi-Cal, and the next step towards #Health4All by expanding access to Medi-Cal for all income-eligible seniors age 65 and over, regardless of immigration status. This expansion will help tens […] Read More
CA Governor Announces Major New Proposals to Prevent Inflated Health Care Prices
January 9, 2020California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a series of major health care reforms to provide relief to millions of California consumers, employers, and taxpayers struggling with high health care costs. In his 2020-21 budget, the Governor is proposing policy changes to address the price of health plans, providers, and prescription drugs. Health care consumer advocates and other stakeholders cheered Governor Newsom’s budget proposals as potential game-changers for Californians struggling with the rising costs of care. These proposals promise some desperately needed relief for California families from the high prices of health plans, providers, and prescription drugs. OFFICE OF HEALTH CARE AFFORDABILITY: Health and consumer advocates strongly support a new Office of Health Care Affordability to set targets for our health system […] Read More
A Dramatic Year – and Decade – in California Health Care
December 23, 2019California had a landmark 2019 in health reform, expanding access and affordability to coverage, not just by countering the administrative attacks from the federal government, but also expanding access and affordability, and placing additional oversight on the health industry to control costs and improve quality and equity. These wins on behalf of consumers are due to the advocacy of health and consumer advocates, working with Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature. With new investments in our health care system, over a million Californians will get help to afford care, with hundreds of thousands to be newly covered due to Medi-Cal and Covered California expansions, along with reduced premiums for many more. The year 2019 also saw benefit restorations of cuts in […] Read More