Sacramento lobbyist George Steffes.When Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California in 1966, George Steffes joined his administration as legislative secretary and director of policy, a job he held until 1972. Steffes then helped form the first multi-partner lobbying firm in Sacramento. He is the senior partner of Capitol Partners.
Since Congress failed to take Obamacare away from 20 million people, the current President issued an executive order allowing young, healthy people to opt out and buy cheaper health insurance. This benefits them with cheaper payments, but as they might learn the hard way, you get what you pay for.
Illustration: Logo of Covered California California’s health exchange said Wednesday it has ordered insurers to add a surcharge to certain policies next year because the Trump administration has yet to commit to paying a key set of consumer subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The decision to impose a 12.4 percent surcharge on silver-level health plans in 2018 means the total premium increase for them will average nearly 25 percent, according to Covered California.
Lisa Zeelander, a medical doctor at Valley Community Healthcare in North Hollywood, examines patient Pamela Richardson, 60, on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. (Photo: Heidi de Marco/KHN)It’s been nearly two weeks since a crucial deadline passed to continue funding for community health centers, the nonprofit facilities that deliver care to the poor and uninsured in California and across the country. Congress is still squabbling over the details, advocates are still scrambling to get the funding renewed and the centers are starting to plan for the bottom line.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at a Ventura campaign rally two weeks before California's June 7, 2016 Democratic primary. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)The survey, which can be seen in a fully-interactive infographic, polled 851 voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary election and who in an exit poll told us they had voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders. In this study we look not only at his level of current support among his June 2016 voters, but we also want to know how these respondents view the aftermath of that election and the Democratic Party as a whole.
Carmela Coyle, incoming president of the California Hospital Association. (Photo: CHA)<Carmela Coyle is the incoming president of the California Hospital Association, a major player in the state’s intensifying debate over health care. Capitol Weekly caught up with Coyle recently in the midst of her hectic schedule relocating to Sacramento from Maryland.
Sen. Wadie Deddeh in 2015. (Image: Screen capture, via YouTube., from Baitna Project testimony.There are five people alive today who each served more than a quarter-century in the California State Legislature. Four of the five served as the leader of a house during their time in Sacramento. The last member of the quarter-century club is 97-year-old Wadie Deddeh, who moved to the United States in his late 20s, rose to power as chair of the Revenue and Taxation committee, and retired from the Legislature in 1993.
Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-Dublin). (Photo: Screen capture, KQED interview, via YouTube)During a Town Hall meeting in Orinda, one of the most affluent corners of her 16th Assembly District, Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) holds her own, leading the conversation and proudly explaining her votes and positions on the issues to a largely receptive audience made up of mostly older white constituents. “She seems pretty malleable and works across the aisle with Democrats,” said Linda, an Orinda Democrat who did not give her last name. “But, she might have been sugar coating it, because it’s a more liberal audience.”
An electric car takes on power at a San Francisco charging station. (Photo: Shutterstock)It may soon become a lot easier for California drivers to get plugged in. Legislation on Gov. Brown’s desk would allow city officials and private property owners to install charging stations for electric vehicles on curbsides of public streets. Brown has until Oct. 15 to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
View of downtown San Diego and central rail yards. (Photo: welcomia, via Shutterstock)The rampant hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego is highlighting the city’s significant homeless problem. More than half of the 444 people with confirmed cases as of Sept. 14 are homeless, county health officials reported earlier this month. The officials say the highly contagious liver infection was spread through person-to-person contact. San Diego has more than 9,100 homeless people, which amounts to the fourth largest homeless population in the country.