Health Access, the statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition, urges that the Office of Health Care Affordability seek to do the following: 1) Slow Unchecked Health Care Cost Growth to Benefit Californians & California as a Whole Set a cost growth benchmark that meaningfully reduces the rate of growth—because we will never meet a goal […]
Covered California Announces More Affordable Plan Options, Despite Rising Rates
California’s health benefit exchange, Covered California, announced today its plan options in 2024, including that premiums will increase on average 9.6%. However, even with rising premium rates, federal and state affordability assistance will ensure that Covered California will be more affordable than ever. The Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act caps premium costs for all Covered […]
Covered California Votes to Lower Health Care Cost-Sharing for Hundreds of Thousands
The 2023-2024 California state budget guaranteed that funds raised from the individual mandate tax penalty will be used to lower costs for Californians who purchase care on their own through Covered California. Covered California’s Board voted today to use the funds to implement new 2024 benefits that will significantly reduce deductibles and co-pays for over […]
Major Health Care Affordability Help for Covered California Enrollees
The 2023-2024 state budget agreement announced between the State Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom includes a major new agreement to improve health care affordability for hundreds of thousands of Covered California enrollees. Agreement will ensure that the majority of funds raised from the tax penalty for not having coverage goes back into a fund to […]
Major Bills to Expand Health Care Access and Lower Costs Pass CA Assembly
AB 716 (Boerner) to stop surprise ambulance bills and AB 4 (Arambula) to open up Covered California to all regardless of immigration status passed the Assembly floor with bipartisan votes. Bills to increase health industry accountability on costs pass including AB 1092 (Wood) and AB 616 (Rodriguez). Other key #Care4AllCA priorities to improve the health […]
Californians Share Their Surprise Ambulance Bill Stories
In a medical emergency, you may be thinking a lot of things – am I ok? Do I need help? Can I get to a hospital? The things you should not be thinking are “can I afford the ambulance ride I need?” or “is this ambulance provider in my network?” Yet many Californians have received […]
Covered California Cost-Sharing Help: Budget Proposal
AB 716 (Boerner) Protecting Consumers from Surprise Ambulance Bills
In a medical emergency, the last thing you should be thinking about is whether calling an ambulance will lead to a huge bill. It’s unfortunately been a common occurrence for a person to not know if the ambulance they are being transported in is out of their insurance company’s network. Someone experiencing an emergency has no choice […]
AB 1092 (Wood) Protecting Consumers When Health Plans Merge
Key Medi-Cal Commitments Continue; Improvements to Covered CA Needed
The May revision to the 2023-2024 state budget announced today by Governor Gavin Newsom continues key commitments to improve and expand health care, including removing barriers in Medi-Cal for all income-eligible Californians regardless of immigration status by January 2024, and improvements to CalAIM. A bigger “MCO tax” would provide more federal funds for new investments […]