During his final legislation signings of the year, Gov. Gavin Newsom made the decision last week to veto Sen. Susan Eggman (D – Stockton)’s widely-supported Senate Bill 247. The bill would have established a Rare Disease Advisory Council within the California Health and Human Services Agency, which would have implemented regulations, data collection … Read more
CalOptima is one of the Medi-Cal plans in the state to receive special authorization from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to send text messages to members. As a result, CalOptima is using text campaigns to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates among communities on Medi-Cal. DCHS data has shown that vaccination rates among … Read more
Covered California for Small Business unveiled the health plan choices and rates for small-business employers and their employees for the upcoming 2022 plan year. The statewide weighted average rate change is 4 percent, which represents the second-lowest annual increase in the program’s seven-year history. The rate change is lower than national projected increases for larger … Read more
Among the numerous bills vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in his final decisions on 2021 legislation signings on Saturday, Senate Bill 524, authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, was one of them. The “Choose Your Own Pharmacist” bill would have helped ensure that patients can use the pharmacy they prefer by prohibiting health care plans and … Read more
We hosted our 2021 Los Angeles State of Reform Health Policy Conference last week, bringing together thought leaders, legislators, and policy experts into multi-silo conversations about the future of health care in California. Too often, those with good ideas for reforming health care don’t have a solid understanding of how the legislative process … Read more