Health Care Reform

Millions of Californians who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance will be given the opportunity to register to vote, too.

A new Medicare program that punishes hospitals with high patient readmissions is forcing administrators to improve how patients are cared for even after they are wheeled out the hospital doors.

Walmart shoppers probably didn't expect to be greeted by taxpayers protesting the Walmart Loophole, which allows large companies like Walmart to avoid their responsibilities to pay their fair share for their workers' health care.

Government health spending in California now exceeds the size of the entire state general fund budget.

The Medical Board of California would be stripped of its power to investigate physician misconduct under a sweeping reform plan by legislators who say the agency has struggled to hold problem doctors accountable.

Premiums for employer health insurance in California jumped 170% over the last decade, more than five times the 32% increase in the state's inflation rate.

Lawmakers warn that they will let the agency expire next year if it doesn't become more aggressive in taking action against dangerous doctors.

Commissioner Dave Jones ripped Anthem for raising rates 5.2 percent on small businesses. He said Anthem's rates on those customers have jumped 10.5 percent in the past year, which he called "excessive and unreasonable."

Middle class Californians counting on federal health-care reform to lower their insurance premiums are in for a double-digit shock next year, a new state study shows.

A 2014 initiative would let the insurance commissioner reject health premium hikes deemed excessive. Insurers have begun their campaign against it in earnest.

Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law.

Hundreds of thousands of Californians covered by the state's largest health insurers are facing double-digit premium hikes, and regulators and consumers are pushing back.

Even states that back Obama's healthcare law worry about a jump in some insurance premiums as it takes effect.

Health insurer Anthem Blue Cross agrees to reduce the average increase to 14% from 18% in response to regulators' criticism.

Millions of uninsured Californians will soon be required to buy health insurance or face a penalty, and Wednesday morning they got a glimpse of what to expect.

As the state moves to expand healthcare coverage to millions under President Obama's healthcare law, it faces a major obstacle: There are not enough doctors to treat a crush of newly insured patients.

Health care limits like the one imposed by UC are already illegal under the sweeping federal health-care law - dubbed Obamacare - but the health care act does not apply to "self-funded" college plans like UC's.

Covered California will use part of the money to market itself to the estimated 5 million Californians who will be eligible to use the health exchange.

A consumer group is suing Anthem Blue Cross over a new policy that requires HIV patients to get their medications by mail. A San Diego man who is HIV positive is the lead plaintiff.

In order to help implement the Affordable Care Act overhaul in California, Gov. Brown proposed a major expansion of the public insurance program in the state budget.

The health insurer's requirement that some customers get their prescription drugs from a single mail-order pharmacy has caught the eye of the California attorney general's office.

Anthem Blue Cross plans to go ahead with a 10.6% annual avergage insurance rate hike on small business owners, despite the fact that an examination by the California Insurance Commissioner found it to be unreasonable and unsupportable.

CA insurance commissioner said an 11% increase for small businesses by Anthem Blue Cross is unreasonable because they overstated costs and improperly added fees related to the federal healthcare law.

In a major step forward for health reform implementation, last week the federal government gave the go-ahead for eight more states to start their insurance exchanges. Along with California, the states of Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Vermont and Utah received conditional approval to move forward with state based exchanges, while Arkansas received approval for a federal partnership exchange.

Roughly 4 million additional Californians are expected to obtain health insurance by 2014 through the federal health law, an expansion that will likely exacerbate the state's doctor shortage and could squeeze primary care access in the Bay Area, experts say.

California will begin moving 860,000 lower-income children from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal next month after receiving last-minute federal approval today, state health officials said.

It is unclear how many Californians will sign up when the healthcare law takes effect in 2014, making it difficult for the Brown administration to estimate the costs of expanded coverage.

The board of directors of Covered California, the new Health Benefit Exchange, met yesterday in Sacramento to continue its work implementing a reformed healthcare market in compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act of 2010.

The Obama administration will have to build and operate online health insurance markets for more than 30 states, something few expected when the federal health law was approved in 2010.

In filings with state regulators, Blue Shield is seeking an average rate increase of 12% for more than 300,000 customers. Consumer advocates say the firm should use its reserves to hold down rates.

Lawmakers will need to move quickly to clear the way for Californians' enrollment in a new state-run insurance market next fall in the run-up to the Affordable Care Act.

California health insurers are proposing double-digit rate increases for hundreds of thousands of policyholders, drawing criticism that health insurers are padding their profits as the nation prepares to carry out the federal health care law.

870,000 children covered by the Healthy Families program will be moved to Medi-Cal starting January 1, but it is unclear whether Sacramento, Fresno, San Diego and Los Angeles counties will have enough doctors to accept the children.

The new health care law appears on track in close to half the states, with others playing catch-up and the administration readying a fallback for states not wishing to participate.

A new law that will require California doctors to tell women if they have highly dense breast tissue is expected to increase demand for alternatives to mammography to screen patients for breast cancer.

Governor Brown signed a bill to improve breast cancer detection in women with dense breast tissue...Brown’s signature makes California just the fifth state with a breast density notification law. Legislation is also under consideration in a dozen other states and in Congress.

Consumers across California will be getting rebate checks from their health insurers next week - one of the first tangible results of the federal health care overhaul. About 1.8 million Californians will be getting money back, either directly or through a reduction in their monthly premium.

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones says the health insurer's proposal violated state rules designed to protect consumers from large rate increases.

As the nation awaits the historic Supreme Court ruling on the Obama administration’s health care law, a new report released Wednesday says California leads the nation in the number of premature deaths caused primarily by lack of health insurance.

When Blue Shield of California raised the rates for Robert Jeffrey Martin's family insurance policy by 23 percent, the health insurer offered him two options: Stay in his expensive old plan or switch to a policy that offered his family skimpier benefits with a higher deductible.

To make universal coverage work at the state level, you'd need to channel federal healthcare funds into the system. A bill being drafted by Rep. Jim McDermott would allow that to happen.

A bill to create a federally funded Basic Health Plan for about 720,000 low-income residents would go for naught if the Supreme Court tosses out the law.

In California today, nearly 90 percent of health insurance policies sold on the individual market do not cover prenatal care or labor and delivery costs. That will change on July 1, when a new statewide maternity-care mandate kicks in, and nationwide in 2014, when the federal Affordable Care Act goes into full force.

California's doctors, hospitals and insurance companies launched their campaign Monday against a proposed ballot measure seeking tighter regulation of health insurance rates and proponents quickly returned fire.

A high-stakes ballot measure to give state regulators the power to approve health insurance rates in California has landed a heavyweight supporter: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Leno's legislation would replace private insurance companies with a newly created California Healthcare Agency. The new state agency would manage the $200 billion supporters say is already spent on healthcare by employers, individuals and the state each year.

In 2010, a year in which medical costs increased by about 9 percent, the five largest health insurers in the United States saw their profits soar by 16 percent while raking in nearly $12 billion. All told, since 2002, employer health insurance premiums have climbed 152 percent.

Senate Bill 810, introduced by San Francisco Democrat Sen. Mark Leno, would establish a California Healthcare Agency to run a single-payer health care system that would pool employer and employee payments. It would administer the money and negotiate rates with doctors, hospitals and other medical providers.

California regulators...continued lack of real power has consumers gearing up for a new battle with the insurance industry over rate regulation.

According to the survey, premiums for employer health insurance plans have risen 153.5% since 2002, a rate that's more than five times the increase in California's inflation rate.

Of all the personal information that you might want to keep private, your medical records are the most important. That's why federal and state laws carry stiff penalties, up to and including jail time, for healthcare providers who let such data loose into the wild.

Funding for CalWorks, the welfare-to-work program that is the state's main welfare service, was cut by $1 billion this year...while also reducing monthly checks by at least 8 percent.

From 2003 to 2010, the combined average amount that California families and their employers paid for health coverage shot up 52 percent, reaching $13,819 annually, according to a recently released study by the Commonwealth Fund.

Sutter Health is being sued for negligence and other allegations in the mid-October theft of a computer from Sutter Medical Foundation headquarters that held information on more than 4 million of its patients.

...significant increases in health insurance premiums over the past seven years will provide fodder for a recently launched campaign in California to let voters decide whether the state should have the authority to reject health insurance rate increases.

Consumer Watchdog says California's largest for-profit health insurance company used 'bait and switch' tactics to raise deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for some customers May 1.

The proposed initiative would also prohibit insurers from considering a lapse in coverage when determining rates or premiums for auto, health or homeowners' policies.

The retailer's decision to reduce the number of workers who qualify for coverage further shows a need for change. The U.S. is the only developed nation in the world that offers health insurance this way.

A pair of letters to the health insurer's California customers sparks confusion. Anthem, it turns out, is replacing its California Medicare Advantage plan with 13 regional variations that allow it to set premiums and benefits according to local conditions.

AB 52 would enable California regulators to examine insurers' cost projections and, if they're excessive, reject any proposed premium increases.

The changes have left nearly half the working-age population without enough protection from illness. Altogether, 44% of American adults were either uninsured or underinsured last year, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

AB 52 sparked one of this year's biggest battles, attracting intense lobbying that pitted consumer activists and health advocacy groups against the health insurance industry and business groups.

...a leading California consumer rights group wants to shift the debate by offering a groundbreaking state ballot measure calling for a public option, a 20 percent rate rollback and tough oversight of premiums.

California auto insurers must justify their rate increases. AB 52 would force health insurers to do the same. It's long-overdue legislation that should be passed and signed into law.

Participants in the debt ceiling debate placed the spotlight on programs with a barely measurable impact on the deficit and put off to the indefinite future the things that really matter.

The three companies that have already spoken - UnitedHealth, WellPoint and Aetna - earned a combined $2.51 billion from April through the end of June, more than analysts expected. On a per share basis, their earnings were up more than 17 percent on average compared with the second quarter of 2010.

Assembly Bill 52, the controversial bill that would impose rate regulation on health insurers, passed out of the state Senate's Health Committee by a 5-to-3 vote Wednesday along party lines.

California's health insurance companies continue to squawk about a bill that would require them to justify rate increases - and give state officials authority to deny unreasonable increases.

The bitter battle over AB 52, written by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, has pitted consumer advocates, labor and other groups against medical and business organizations, insurers and numerous chambers of commerce.

When auto and homeowners' insurance companies propose excessive rate increases, California state officials can reject them. But California has a big loophole when it comes to health insurance.

Ever wonder what happens to the premiums you pay for your health insurance? You might be surprised to learn that more and more of the dollars you pay for coverage are being sucked into a kind of black hole.

Feuer's bill simply calls on insurance companies to justify their rate increases. It could not be more reasonable. Assembly members need to remember the success of auto insurance oversight and approve AB 52.

The companies cite bogus figures to fight a bill that would give California officials prior-approval authority over premium hikes. And they're trying to convince the public that the measure would actually cost people money.

Giving consumers the opportunity to participate in rate reviews is a valuable counterweight to the shifting policies in Sacramento, where regulators' zeal often depends on who won the last election.

Feuer is carrying a bill that would require health insurers to submit proposed rate or co-pay hikes to regulators for prior approval. California authorities could deny premium increases they find “excessive, inadequate or discriminatory.”

The California Universal Healthcare Act was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The bill would initiate single-payer universal health care for the state of California, Leno said. "What that means in short is Medicare for all," he said.

The proposal is contained in AB 52 by Assemblyman Mike Feuer...described by Heller as the "consumer bill of the year" - requires insurers to get prior approval from the state, bars any rates that are excessive or discriminatory and gives regulators the power to approve, deny or rewrite a rate application.

Breathtaking premium hikes have prompted California's new insurance commissioner to sponsor a bill that would require medical insurers to get state approval before increasing rates.

A controversial bill that would allow state regulators to prohibit "excessive" health insurance rate increases was passed by a key legislative committee yesterday. The bill would allow health insurance regulators to approve, deny or modify proposed hikes in health insurance premiums, co-pays or deductibles.

Now lawmakers are considering a proposal to let state regulators block rate hikes they consider unreasonable, just as they can do for most other types of insurance.

Sutter Health, one of California's largest health care givers, fraudulently charged insurers up to hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade for anesthesia services that in some cases weren't even provided, the state's insurance commissioner said Wednesday.

Health insurance companies know all there is to know about maximizing profits. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California both tried to impose rate increases of over 35 percent in the past year, when medical costs rose by just 10 percent.

A new study systematically dismantles the industry's claim that the research and development cost of bringing a new drug to market is $1.3 billion.

Citing a California Watch story, a state Senate leader has called for a public health investigation into "alarming" malnutrition rates among Medicare patients at the Prime Healthcare hospital chain.

State officials said Monday that they are investigating the security practices of Health Net Inc. after the company said it cannot find some computer server drives that contain sensitive information, including personal data about patients.

Nearly 5 million uninsured Californians could gain access to health coverage in 2014 when the nation's healthcare law expands eligibility for subsidized insurance programs for the poor, according to a new report.

Clamor over an insurance company's decision to increase premiums by as much as 59 percent could lead California lawmakers to consider pre-approving such increases. Last session, a bill that would have authorized the state insurance commissioner to approve rate hikes failed by four votes in the state Senate.

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones doesn't have the authority to prevent excessive rate increases by health insurers. But San Francisco-based Blue Shield of California is sure making the case that he should.

Calories and other nutrition information have been available in some form - in brochures, posters or online - at many restaurants for some time. But until Jan. 1 this year, none in California had been required to display calorie counts alongside menu offerings.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has won approval for an emergency regulation that gives him authority to enforce a new federal rule requiring health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care.

In some cases, California has gone beyond requirements of the reform measure that have already taken effect (most elements don't start until 2014). The law, for example, forbids insurers from denying insurance to children with pre-existing conditions.

The insurance industry claims that rate regulation won't solve the underlying problem of increasing medical care costs...but they need to make their case instead of simply hiking rates year after year. Consumers deserve explanations. The California Legislature should pass AB52.

Despite a law requiring an end to the practice Jan. 1, some including Anthem Blue Cross say it could take months before all individual policyholders have gender-neutral rates. That's not good enough.

Health insurance premiums have been rising for everyone, but the 2.5 million Californians who buy insurance on their own rather than receiving it through an employer have been particularly hard-hit lately.

"It's a health insurance company challenging the new commissioner, and frankly the president, in a fight over health insurance rates," said Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog.

Another big California health insurer has stunned individual policyholders with huge rate increases — this time it's Blue Shield of California seeking cumulative hikes of as much as 59% for tens of thousands of customers March 1.

...Dave Jones became California's seventh insurance commissioner...promising an activist administration that will push for health insurance reform and look out for consumer interest - all while promoting a "robust" and competitive industry in the state.

Drug companies spend $30 billion annually on marketing, much of it directly aimed at physicians. Patients have a right to know whether their physicians accept those payments - not all do - and how much they receive.

Insurers that seek rate increases of more than 10% next year must post justifications on a federal website. The Obama administration also outlines efforts to increase federal review of premiums if states have limited power to halt questionable rate hikes.

California's looming Health Benefit Exchange is envisioned as a sort of online market place for coverage, handling billions of dollars worth of health care as part of the federal reform law.