Unlike auto insurers who are required to seek prior approval from the Department of Insurance before increasing auto insurance rates, HMOs and health insurers have no similar requirement...AB 2578 will give the state a powerful tool to control unabated rate increases from HMOs and health insurers.

One-time instances of overradiation may be difficult to detect without proper documentation of the dosage administered, and for this reason and others, it is critical that SB 1237 becomes law.

AB 822 would play havoc with this staffing system, and empower hospitals to easily downgrade a patient’s status from critical to acute as a cost saving measure. It would make enforcement more difficult, as mixed units would be impossible to classify in terms of the required staffing ratios.

The bill would make all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits which would, on a single-payer basis, negotiate for or set fees for health care services provided through the system and pay claims for those services.

Read our detailed "health of nations" fact sheet to get a comprehensive analysis of the shortcomings of our health care system and specific ways it can be improved.

Bungling Democrats should acknowledge they lost the fight for the support of the people on health care reform. The sooner they flee this field of battle, and move on to issues that re-connect them with the mood of America, the better their chances to salvage the mid-term elections.

Wall Street knows a gold mine when it sees one, and it likes what it saw in the Senate health care bill. Health insurance company stocks soared to an 18 month high the day the Democrats reached the magic 60 votes needed for passage of its overhaul bill.

The bill, SB 1237, would require hospitals and clinics to record radiation dose of CT scans. The bill would also require CT services to be accredited by an organization approved by CMS and calls for facilities to report any overdose to the patient, treating physician, and California Department of Public Health.

Assembly Bill 2578 (Jones and Feuer) requires that prior approval be obtained before health insurance rates are increased. HMOs and health insurers would need to receive approval from the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) or the Department of Insurance for proposed rate increases.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would prohibit the sale of any private health insurance policy in the state and establish a new California Healthcare System as the primary payer for health care services in California.

Progressive Democrats...argue that it’s time someone stood up to the insurance companies and that tough economic times make it even more important to guarantee that every Californian has access to high-quality, affordable health care.

Senate Bill 797, a proposal to ban BPA - bisphenol A - in baby bottles and sippy cups that was supported by labor and environmental groups but opposed by the American Chemistry Council and a coalition of business groups. The bill died by two votes in the Senate.

...Sacramento has little control over health care rates, largely because industry lobbyists have killed efforts to change a rules-free marketplace....health insurance interests have given $800,218 over the last three years to members of the state Senate, where showdown votes on insurance controls are due this month.

Assemblyman Dave Jones...is trying to put a check on the double-digit premium increases of recent years with a bill that would require health insurers to justify their rates, similar to current rules for auto insurers.

Having failed in its bid to hike premiums for individual health insurance policies up to 39%, Anthem Blue Cross announced this week a revised plan to raise them up to 20%. That's still a staggering percentage...