‘Legislative Analysis’ Archives
Full Steam Ahead for Obama Healthcare Law
Brushing aside GOP opponents and the threat of a federal shutdown, Obama urges Americans to start checking out new health insurance plans. Administration officials emphasized that a government shutdown would not prevent the federal website for enrolling in health coverage — http://www.healthcare.gov — from going live at 8 a.m Eastern time [...]
Slim Majority of Californians Favor Health Care Reform
As House Republicans in Washington press a campaign to defund the Affordable Care Act, a slim majority of Californians support the changes to the health care system enacted by President Barack Obama and Congress, according to a statewide survey released Wednesday evening by the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California, with funding from [...]
Health Exchange Needs Participation to Succeed
A perfect storm could hit California’s new health care exchange if people don’t opt in, starting this year. That’s according to a panel of health care experts. Under the Affordable Care Act, individuals and small businesses can start enrolling in the Covered California health care exchange Oct. 1. The primary concern is what could happen if [...]
Health Agents Concerned but Covered California Promises to be Ready Oct. 1
Depending on who is talking, the Affordable Care Act health insurance enrollment starting Oct. 1 will be exciting or chaotic. Philanthropy director Naomi Brauner is excited about plans to train a dozen people to become "certified application counselors," helping people enroll in health insurance plans made possible by the Affordable Care [...]
California Has 10th Highest Rate of Uninsured Individuals
California has the largest number of residents without health insurance in the U.S. and the 10th highest rate of uninsured individuals. However, officials expect the population of uninsured residents to shrink by at least 50% when the state health insurance exchange and Medi-Cal expansion are implemented under the Affordable Care Act. The Census [...]
The Mistake California Makes on Pension Reform
California is confronting a huge retirement problem: Americans haven’t saved enough and remain uncertain about how to invest their savings. The state is considering a plan to automatically enrolled workers a program where 3% of their savings will go toward an account with a guaranteed 3% return. The purpose of this program seems to be giving [...]
Doctors Quitting Medicare: Is Obamacare Really To Blame?
Despite dire predictions, the number of physicians who agreed to accept Medicare patients continues to grow year-over-year. Yes, the number of doctors saying no to Medicare has proportionately risen quite a bit – from 3,700 doctors in 2009 to 9,539 in 2012. (And in some cases, Obamacare has been a convenient scapegoat). But, the number of [...]
Health Insurance Premiums Expected to Rise Dramatically Under Obamacare
According to a recent study from the House Energy and Commerce Committee health insurance premiums will rise, on average, by 100 percent—and some could increase by much more. For example, the average yearly cost for a new customer in the individual market will grow from $1,896 to $3,708—a $1,812 cost increase, the report states. Devon [...]
BART Strike Will Be About Health Care Costs
Many California commuters were inconvenienced earlier this summer when Bay Area Rapid Transit services were forcibly suspended for four and a half days at the hands of a union-led strike. This weekend, the Amalgamated Transit Union threatened to resurrect that strike if BART management officials refuse to adequately concede on hot-button issues, [...]
Auditor Assesses Covered California Health Exchange
The State Auditor has produced a report assessing how the state is faring with Covered California, its insurance exchange mandated under the federal health-care overhaul. California committed to building the exchange early, unlike Republican-controlled holdout states. It also had the largest uninsured population of any state as of 2011, so [...]
