After a honeymoon period of several years, Covered California customers will be looking at a meaningful increase in premiums for 2017. The state Obamacare operation is predicting rate increases of 8 percent next year, it said in a budget proposal. That's double the 4 percent average of the past two years, but lower than projections elsewhere in the nation for Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Some consumer advocates said ... (More)
Lawmakers: Fix pregnancy snafu
May 3, 2016 Leave a Comment
Sixteen members of California's congressional delegation are calling on Covered California to quickly fix a problem that has caused some pregnant women to be dropped from their health plans and enrolled in Medi-Cal without prior notice or consent. Led by congressman Ami Bera and congresswoman Lois Capps, the lawmakers sent a letter Thursday to Diana Dooley, secretary of the state's Health and Human Services Agency, and to Covered ... (More)
Covered Cal seeks care reforms
April 11, 2016 Leave a Comment
Covered California is moving aggressively to address quality of care issues via its new contracts with health insurers. Most contract provisions go into effect for the years 2017-19. The changes include a system for identifying and penalizing health care providers who provide substandard care. "We are creating a market that rewards quality over quantity and moves health reform forward in an impactful way," Covered California ... (More)
439,000 newbies for Covered Cal
February 19, 2016 Leave a Comment
More than 439,000 Californians signed up for new health care coverage via the state's Obamacare operation, according to numbers for the 2016 open enrollment periods. About 14,000 of those signed up after the enrollment's official deadline, Covered California said Feb. 17. Overall, 1.57 million consumers chose or remained with health plans during the enrollment. That compares with 1.4 million in 2015, but the number of those ... (More)
Blue Shield tops enrollment
February 10, 2016 Leave a Comment
For the first time in three years, Blue Shield of California leads enrollment in the state's insurance exchange while Oscar, a closely watched newcomer, experienced a slow start. The Covered California exchange said it won’t release enrollment figures by company until later this month, and insurers declined to share specifics until then. But interviews with industry officials indicate some insurers, such as Blue Shield and Molina ... (More)
Recent Comments