By Lauren McSherry, California Healthline Regional Correspondent for California Healthline Medicare beneficiaries throughout the state are weighing their options during Medicare Advantage open enrollment season, but residents in Riverside County may have more choices to consider than others elsewhere in the state. “In Riverside County and surrounding counties there are far more insurance companies competing… Continue reading Medicare Advantage Competition Rated Strongest in Southern CA

By Stephanie Stephens, California Healthline Regional Correspondent for California Healthline LOS ANGELES — Adults ages 50 and older who live in South Los Angeles now have help to get healthy and “HAPPI.” Instead of waiting for seniors to access and receive no-cost preventive health services, the new Healthy Aging Partnerships in Prevention Initiative meets them “where… Continue reading New Preventive Health Program Helps South L.A. Seniors Get ‘HAPPI’

The duals experience was supposed to be different in Orange County. Orange County was the last of seven counties to roll out the state’s duals demonstration project, also known as Cal MediConnect, which combines the resources and services for people dually eligible for Medi-Cal and Medicare. One of the concerns in the previous six counties’… Continue reading Orange County Seniors Opting Out of State’s Duals Demonstration Project

By David Gorn for California Healthline California Department of Insurance officials have announced a new website that will enable consumers to comparison-shop for health insurance. It’s a collaborative effort between the CDI, UC-San Francisco and Consumer Reports, a not-for-profit magazine that conducts consumer product testing and research. The project is federally funded through the Affordable Care… Continue reading Website Will Compare Health Insurance

Original article published by California Healthline on September 8, 2015. The state Legislature has passed a bill (AB 187) that would delay the planned shift of some children in the California Children’s Services program to Medi-Cal managed care plans, Kaiser Health News reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry… Continue reading Bill To Delay Retooling of Children’s Services Program Goes to Brown

By Dan Diamond for Califonia Healthline By sheer number of covered lives, Kaiser Permanente has been California’s largest health insurer for decades. But if Anthem gets its way — no longer. The Indianapolis-based insurer is currently the second-largest health insurer in the Golden State, and one of the three largest health insurers in the nation. Its planned… Continue reading What the Anthem-Cigna Mega-Merger Could Mean for California

Medical giant Cedars-Sinai Health System said Tuesday it has acquired nearby Marina Del Rey Hospital, adding to a flurry of similar healthcare deals. Cedars-Sinai said it has purchased the 145-bed hospital and its neighboring medical office building. The price wasn’t disclosed. Marina Del Rey Hospital will operate as an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai and continue to… Continue reading Cedars-Sinai Buys Marina Del Rey Hospital Amid Healthcare Merger Wave

Originally Posted by California Healthline Although California has been one of the most “proactive” states in attempting to ensure timely access to mental health care, the state still has struggled to enforce compliance of the federal mental health parity law, Kaiser Health News reports (Gold, Kaiser Health News, 8/13). Background Under the 2008 federal mental… Continue reading Calif. Managed Care Plans Struggle To Achieve Mental Health Parity

By Dan Gorenstein for Marketplace Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee is wearing a big smile these days. “We’ve turned expectations on their head and delivered affordable rates for all Californians,” he says. “That’s a big deal.” Lee is excited because for two years in a row, premium increases on California’s healthcare exchange are about 4… Continue reading California Leads in Lowering Health Insurance Premiums

Family caregivers in California and other states provided about $470 billion in unpaid care in 2013, according to a study by AARP, CNBC reports. The estimate was based on caregivers providing an average of 18 hours of care per week valued at about $12.51 per hour. The value was calculated using median home health aide… Continue reading Study: Calif. Caregivers Provided $57B in Unpaid Care in 2013