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The latest example is Sutter Health and Anthem Blue Cross, whose failure to seal a deal is causing Anthem members to worry they may not have access to one of the dominant hospital chains in Northern California. Across the U.S., the stakes in such contract fights have risen, as health systems and insurers battle to increase their market share.
Delta Dental of California, with more than 36 million enrollees across the country, is looking to buy a stake in a for-profit insurance company based in Oregon. Consumer advocates are calling on regulators to scrutinize the transaction, arguing that it is just the latest questionable move by the nonprofit dental insurer whose corporate practices may be out of step with its tax-exempt status.
Even though the number of people renewing their Covered California health plans increased this year, new enrollment plunged by nearly a quarter compared with last year, posting a bigger drop than the federal health insurance exchange, healthcare.gov, which saw a 16 percent decrease. Officials largely blame the elimination of the federal tax penalty for people without insurance.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is trying to prevent Santa Clara County from buying two local nonprofit hospitals unless it pledges to maintain certain critical health care services. County officials warn the hospitals will close if the attorney general succeeds, leaving area residents with fewer health care choices.
A radio report on an effort in California to hold doctors responsible when a patient overdoses on opioids. Doctors say it is unfair, but the state medical board defends the new project.
The governor of California has proposed some big ideas. Who knows whether he can pull them off, but there鈥檚 reason for hope.
Food stamps for February are being distributed about two weeks early because officials say the federal money to pay for them won鈥檛 be available later due to the government shutdown. State and local officials are scratching their heads about what might happen in March if the impasse continues.
Hospitals and medical practices are battling outdated stereotypes and sometimes their own doctors to hire certified nurse midwives. Research shows that women cared for by certified nurse midwives have fewer cesarean sections, which can produce significant cost savings for hospitals.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra scores a win for California and other states in his effort to block Trump administration birth control rules. It is one of many suits he has filed to defend the Affordable Care Act from efforts to erode it.
Some doctors and clinics are proactively informing patients about a proposed policy that could jeopardize the legal status of immigrants who use public benefit programs such as Medicaid. Others argue that because this 鈥減ublic charge鈥 proposal isn鈥檛 final 鈥 and may never be adopted 鈥 disseminating too much information could create unnecessary alarm and cause some patients to drop benefits.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made health care a priority in his proposed state budget, asking lawmakers to authorize state-funded financial aid for health insurance, impose a penalty on uninsured Californians and expand Medicaid coverage to unauthorized immigrants.
Democratic governors and mayors are unveiling new ideas to control costs and expand coverage. The federal government shutdown has spared most health agencies, but not all. And learn the latest on that lawsuit out of Texas, which is threatening the Affordable Care Act once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN鈥檚 Jordan Rau about the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month.鈥
Dr. Gabor Mat茅 of British Columbia recently visited Sacramento and laid out his theories in an interview with California Healthline.
Just hours into his tenure as California鈥檚 new governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom proposed major plans to insure more Californians, including state-funded financial aid for health insurance and a requirement for Californians to have coverage.
A new report shows that Hispanics, young people, the healthy and the poor 鈥 all groups with high rates of uninsurance before the Affordable Care Act 鈥 are the most likely to forgo insurance now that the tax penalty for not having it has been eliminated.
On New Year鈥檚 Day, California joined the majority of U.S. states that require people convicted of drunken driving to install ignition-linked breathalyzers in their vehicles. If the devices detect alcohol above a predetermined level, the cars don鈥檛 start.
California鈥檚 incoming congressional delegation will be the largest in the U.S. House of Representatives to support progressive health care policies such as 鈥淢edicare-for-all.鈥 But the political reality of a Republican Senate and president means that they will need to pursue ideas that 鈥渁ren鈥檛 pie in the sky.鈥
The leaders of California鈥檚 legislative health committees who wield power over state health policy have been showered with money from the health care sector, with drug companies, health plans, hospitals and doctors providing nearly 40 percent of their 2017-18 campaign funds.
The potentially improper payments occurred in 2014 and 2015, when the state says it was under pressure from a massive influx of new applicants due to the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 Medicaid expansion.
The whistleblower complaint says that Sutter, one of the largest health systems in the U.S., exaggerated how sick certain Medicare patients were in order to collect higher payments from the government-funded program.
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