Medi-Cal

Two proposals that would usher in single-payer health care have divided former allies in the fight for reform.

California Healthline has learned that a coalition of doctors, hospitals, insurers, and community clinics want to lock in a tax on health insurance companies to draw in extra Medicaid funding. It also wants to make the tax permanent.

California officials are proposing to increase reimbursement rates for some Medi-Cal providers, who say low pay rates prevent them from taking more patients.

Sporting a bright smile and the polished Super Bowl ring he won as a star NFL player in the late 1980s, Craig McEwen doesn’t fit the archetype of someone teetering on the brink of homelessness.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration is struggling to contain a worsening homelessness crisis despite record spending, is trying something bold: tapping federal health care funding to cover rent for homeless people and those at risk of losing their housing.

In April, the state will resume its annual eligibility reviews for Medi-Cal. With some enrollees no longer qualifying or unaware they need to renew their coverage, officials estimate 2 million to 3 million people could lose their insurance.

Centene Corp. has agreed to pay more than $215 million to California over allegations it overcharged the state for pharmacy services — the biggest payout to date by the nation’s largest Medicaid insurer over its drug pricing practices.

States are preparing to remove millions of people from Medicaid as protections put in place early in the covid-19 pandemic expire.

Homeless people often have sporadic or no access to health care, resulting in costly, chronic conditions. A new statewide effort encourages Medi-Cal insurers to partner with street teams to improve care.

Low-income patients who need specialized cancer treatment often struggle to get it. Advocates say a new law is a small step toward improving services for those patients.

The state’s new Medi-Cal contracts are part of an overhaul to improve patient care. But some say the new providers aren’t fully prepared to handle more Medi-Cal patients.

In the face of overwhelming demand, a Medi-Cal program providing assisted living for low-income patients is expanding, but slowly. In the meantime, family caretakers struggle with jobs, child care and other responsibilities as they wait.