Last year, California legislators passed several new laws aimed at laying the groundwork for forthcoming changes under the federal health reform law.
For example, one new law requires California's individual and small group health insurance policies to offer maternity coverage. The federal reform law will require such coverage nationwide in 2014.
Another new law aligns California's regulations with the federal reform law's medical-loss ratio rule, which requires individual and small group plans to spend at least 80% of their premium revenue on medical care.
In a California Healthline Special Report by Kelly Wilkinson, experts discussed how the state is adapting to new requirements under the federal overhaul.
The Special Report includes comments from:
- John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority;
- Diana Dooley, secretary of California's Health and Human Services Agency; and
- Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access (Wilkinson, California Healthline, 1/18).
The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.
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