The Democratic-controlled Legislature agreed to let low-income residents under 26 to receive Medi-Cal regardless of immigration status. It could cover up to 138,000 people — a cost of $98 million.
Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, will exclude hospitals from insurance networks if they don't reduce their numbers of C-sections, back scans and opioid prescriptions.
Several state attorneys general say they'll sue to protect the subsidies that help defray costs for low-income consumers. Many physician groups say they oppose the administration's action.
GOP efforts to repeal the ACA are still in flux, and there's more talk now of trying to work out bipartisan fixes for Obamacare. But most suggested remedies won't fix the problems in remote regions.
After two years of moderate rate hikes, a double-digit increase in the cost of insurance premiums in California is likely to resonate across the U.S. in the debate about the benefits of Obamacare.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers are balking at a Covered California proposal to eject providers of care that have inordinately high costs and low quality from its networks.
Covered California's executive director, Peter Lee, said UnitedHealth Group Inc. made its own mistakes on rates and networks that led to a $475 million loss on individual policies in 2015.
Monthly premiums for health insurance plans in the Covered California marketplace will increase by an average of 4 percent for 2016. The price for some plans will drop.
Plenty of uninsured people will discover they owe a penalty as they file their taxes over the next two months, and will also learn they could be locked out of buying insurance to solve the problem.
