Source: Los Angeles Times Rep. Ami Bera and 15 members of the California delegation are pushing the heads of California Health and Human Services and the California Health Benefit Exchange in a letter to address a computer glitch that is terminating Covered California Care for pregnant women. California Healthline/Kaiser Health News reported April 18 that […]
Read moreSource: OC Register Two federal agencies just released some new research that probably isn’t going over too well in the White House. In its most recent baseline projections, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that 18 million people would have coverage through Obamacare’s exchanges in 2025. That’s 4 million fewer than it projected just last year. […]
Read moreSource: The Hill Health insurance companies are laying the groundwork for substantial increases in ObamaCare premiums, opening up a line of attack for Republicans in a presidential election year. Many insurers have been losing money on the ObamaCare marketplaces, in part because they set their premiums too low when the plans started in 2014. The […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline Some people with cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis have better access to high-cost specialty drugs in marketplace plans this year, yet a significant proportion of these plans still place many expensive drugs in cost-sharing categories that require the highest patient out-of-pocket costs, according to a new analysis. The report by Avalere Health […]
Read moreSource: The Washington Post A broad coalition including health-care providers, insurers and seniors will propose major changes Monday designed to rein in prescription-drug costs, including a shorter exclusivity period for biotech medications and a requirement that manufacturers disclose more information about pricing. The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, whose members include AARP, Walmart and several […]
Read moreSource: Politico Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton give drug makers the jitters when they talk about Medicare negotiating the prices of prescription drugs. But the biggest near-term threat to the industry comes from a California ballot initiative that would test a version of that idea in the most populous state. That ballot initiative “is a […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline California legislators are attempting to clear the way for undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through the state’s insurance exchange — potentially setting a national precedent. The fusion of illegal immigration and the Affordable Care Act, two of the most highly charged elements on the periodic table of U.S. politics, could engender […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline State insurance commissioner Dave Jones continued to make his skepticism clear regarding Anthem Inc.’s proposed $54.2 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp. during a hearing here on Tuesday. Company executives faced Jones and a panel of physicians and consumer advocates who questioned the benefits the companies say the acquisition will bring. The Department […]
Read moreSource: California Healthline The State of California’s dental health system for the poor is “dysfunctional” according to ascathing report issued Friday by a bipartisan oversight commission. The program, Denti-Cal, “ranks among state government’s greatest deficiencies,” said the report by the Little Hoover Commission, a statutorily independent oversight agency. The state bureaucracy that runs Denti-Cal draws […]
Read moreSource: The New York Times People newly insured under the Affordable Care Act were sicker, used more medical care and had higher medical costs than those who already had coverage, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association said Tuesday in a new study of its policyholders. Because insurers’ premiums have to cover their medical expenses, […]
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