Covered California Health Plan Rates To Jump 13.2 Percent In 2017
A double-digit increase, which follows two years of moderate rate hikes, is likely to resonate across the country in debate over Obamacare.
California Bureau
Visit for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
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Psychotherapists Gravitate Toward Those Who Can Pay
It goes back to the byzantine way health care — and health insurance — developed in the U.S. in the wake of World War II.
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Hispanics Least Prepared For A Major Disaster In Los Angeles
Only 38 percent of Latino households have a disaster plan, the lowest of any ethnic or racial group.
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Hospital Finance Measure On California Ballot May Stump Voters
Proposition 52 would permanently enshrine a significant source of funding for hospitals and limit lawmakers’ ability to change it.
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Doctors Get Creative To Distract Tech-Savvy Kids Before Surgery
Anxiety before surgery can be dangerous for kids. Medication can help calm them down. But an anesthesiologist in California has come up with a safer, cheaper and much more entertaining alternative.
By Jenny Gold -
Inaccurate Provider Lists A Major Barrier To Care, Study Finds
Research published in Health Affairs shows that new patients were able to get an appointment with a primary care doctor less than 30 percent of the time.
By Emily Bazar -
If You Want To Spend A Bundle On Your Bundle Of Joy, Go To Northern California
A new study shows that Sacramento and San Francisco are the two most expensive places to give birth among the nation’s 30 largest metropolitan areas. One possible reason: consolidation of hospitals and doctors.
By Jenny Gold -
For This Man, Reducing Gun Violence Is A Life’s Mission
Garen Wintemute, an ER doctor, gun violence researcher and advocate of tighter firearms restrictions, finds opportunity in the wake of mass shootings like the one that struck an Orlando night club last month.
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Ga., Calif. Hospitals Sue Blue Cross Plan For Sending ER Reimbursements To Patients
The lawsuits allege that the practice costs the hospitals money because the patients often spend the funds.
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As Marijuana Legalization Initiative Heads For Calif. Ballot, Health Groups Weigh In
Health experts remain divided on legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
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Old Motels Get New Life Helping Homeless Heal
Using run-down motels to care for and temporarily house homeless people recently discharged from the hospital helps stabilize them inexpensively, preventing unnecessary and costly returns to ERs and hospitals.
By David Gorn -
‘Digital Health’ Not Just For Well-Heeled Fitness Fiends
A small group of advocates and entrepreneurs is using mobile phones and digital scales to make a difference in the health of poor people, too.
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California Drug Price Measure Fiercely Opposed By Pharmaceutical Industry
Proposed legislation would require drugmakers to disclose and justify price hikes. The industry has taken to Facebook and Twitter, warning that the proposal could lead to medication shortages in some regions of the state.
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California Insurance Commissioner Weighs In Against Aetna-Humana Deal
Commissioner says $37 billion deal would stifle market competition, raise health insurance rates and reduce access to care.
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Saving Lives And Saving Money
A pioneering program in southern California provides ongoing care and housing to homeless people who are “super-utilizers” of hospital emergency rooms. The effort is reducing ER visits and saving a lot of money.
By David Gorn -
California Insurance Commissioner Urges Feds To Block $54 Billion Anthem-Cigna Deal
Commissioner Dave Jones says the deal would further reduce competition in the state’s health insurance market and harm consumers.
By Chad Terhune -
Report From Key Calif. Agency Raises Concerns About Proposal To Cut Drug Prices
Staff researchers at California’s largest public buyer of health benefits say the goal of reducing drug costs for the state is appealing but might not work in the real world.
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As Hospital Chains Grow, So Do Their Prices For Care
The average patient stay costs $4,000 more at Sutter and Dignity hospitals than at other California medical centers, study shows.
By Chad Terhune -
A New Sort Of Consultant: Advising Doctors, Patients On California’s Aid-In-Dying Law
A Berkeley doctor begins an unusual practice as a law takes effect this week permitting doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients who request them.
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Calif. Senate Nixes Bill Requiring Disclosures From Disciplined Doctors
The proposal would have required physicians and other medical clinicians to tell their patients if they were on probation for serious offenses.