Among the duties of the Congressional Budget Office is determining the financial impact of legislation proposed by lawmakers. Their highly credible analyses is given great credence within Congress. Which means today’s preliminary report on the health care reform package crafted by Senator Edward Kennedy and other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions […]

Health care reform is not for the weak willed. Just ask President Barack Obama. As Congress continues to draft legislation the President is expending his political capital to mobilize supporters of his reform package while at the same time seeking to soften the opposition. As tough as the task lawmakers face, President Obama’s is in […]

Based on what was being said on the Sunday talk shows today, the justification for creating a government-run health plan to compete with private carriers seems to be expanding. One of the fresh arguments does not seem to carry much weight, but the other might. Some are claiming that consumers need to know they can […]

California’s farmers and ranchers are struggling with health care bills that, in some instances, threaten the viability of their family businesses, according to a report Wednesday by the Access Project and funded by the California Endowment. The report finds that while almost all farm and ranch operators have health insurance, one in five says that […]

Early this morning, the California Legislature approved a budget proposal for fiscal year 2008-2009 that avoided some cuts to health care and other programs, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Democrats widely opposed the proposed cuts (Zapler, San Jose Mercury News, 9/16). The proposal does not eliminate dental services for adult Medi-Cal beneficiaries or impose […]

Cost increases for California health insurance premiums are lower this year, and although California’s are higher than some other states, they are also still lower than in previous years. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust confirm what news wires also are reporting: nationally, the rise in cost of health care premiums […]

ABC’s liberal medical editor, Dr. Tim Johnson, appeared on Wednesday’s “Good Morning America to boost Barack Obama’s universal health care plan and critique the more market oriented proposals of John McCain. Co-host Robin Roberts began the segment by seriously asserting, “We’re not endorsing one plan over the other. We’re just showing the differences between the […]

Thousands of California children could lose health insurance coverage in the coming months as a result of changes in Medi-Cal rules and decreased funding for local efforts that have provided coverage to children, the Los Angeles Times reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. State lawmakers will require parents of children enrolled in Medi-Cal to renew […]

The nation has 8.6 million children who lack public or private health insurance and 1.3 million of them are in California, Families USA, a Washington-based advocate for expanded health access, says in a report based on new census data. California, the nation’s most populous state, is just behind Texas in the numbered of medically uninsured […]