Image by jutawat RawichotOPINION – If your house was on fire, would you throw money at the arsonists fanning the flames? Probably not, but that’s exactly what California is doing by giving away hundreds of millions — if not billions — of dollars to fossil fuel corporations every year.
A person uses a laptop computer to go online and search for housing. (Photo: Tada Images, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Expanding broadband access is key to advancing equity in our increasingly digital society. So why are California regulators taking steps to restrict the use of federal and state broadband subsidies to support communities that need them most, effectively widening the digital divide?
An illustration of medical insurance covering a family. (Image: Andrey_Popov, via Shutterstock)Claire Haas and her husband are at a health insurance crossroads. If they were single, each would qualify for a federal tax credit to help reduce the cost of their health insurance premiums. As a married couple, they get zip. “We talk about getting divorced every time we get our health care bills,” said Haas, 34, of Oakland. She has been married to her husband, Andrew Snyder, 33, for two years.
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.
A physician flanked by the California flag. (Illustration: Niyazz, via Shutterstock).Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in California would be able to buy insurance through the state healthcare coverage marketplace if the federal government accepts a newly signed state law to exempt them from the federal rule. On June 10, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation requiring Covered California to ask the federal government for a waiver to let an estimated 390,000 undocumented immigrants buy health insurance – as long as they do it with their own money.
Two senior women exercising at a health club. (Photo: Karel Hoppe)A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in January weakens the “vested rights” protection of retiree health care based on a labor contract, potentially making it easier for government employers to cut a growing cost. The high court overturned an influential federal appeals court ruling that said retiree health care authorized by a short-term labor contract is presumed to be a lifetime benefit, unless the contract has clear language to the contrary.