Kristen Hwang
CalMatters-
Prop. 35 would take an existing tax on health insurance plans and use the money to increase payment to doctors and other providers who see Medi-Cal patients. Its supporters have raised $50 million, drawing from groups representing hospitals, doctors and insurers.
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California’s new cap on health care cost increases is regarded as the most aggressive in the nation. It includes potential fines against companies that exceed the limit.
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Pharmacy benefit managers attempt to negotiate cost savings for insurers. California is considering new rules that would require them to pass their discounts on to consumers.
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Kamala Harris has a long record of supporting abortion rights in California. In one case, she launched an investigation into an anti-abortion group that published secretly recorded interviews with Planned Parenthood leaders.
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The health care industry put a measure on the November ballot that would raise more money for Medi-Cal and block lawmakers from spending it on general government services. Billions of dollars are on the line.
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Medication abortion will remain widely available to Californians after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug.
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California now is one of nine states with regulations limiting health care cost increases (Oregon is another). Consumers won’t necessarily notice the changes, but supporters say they will make a difference over time.
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California bought and distributed a quarter of a million abortion pills, fearing a federal ban. At today’s Supreme Court hearing, the justices seemed hesitant to limit access.
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Recent polls show many Californians were undecided heading into Election Day on Gov. Newsom’s Proposition 1, which would fund new mental health treatment facilities.
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All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.
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Black women are three times more likely than any other women to die during or immediately after pregnancy. California lawmakers passed a law in 2019 requiring hospitals to train labor and delivery staff on unconscious bias in medicine.
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Several anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers are advertising ‘abortion pill reversal’. California Attorney General Rob Bonta calls the claims false advertising that mislead vulnerable patients.