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Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 50th, ERISA

Podcast

What does a law to protect worker pensions have to do with how health insurance is regulated? Far more than most people may think. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, turns 50 in September. The law fundamentally changed the way the federal and state governments regulate employer-provided health insurance and continues to shape health policy in the United States. In this special episode of “What the Health?â€, host and Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner speaks to Larry Levitt of KFF, Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and Ilyse Schuman of the American Benefits Council about the history of ERISA and what its future might hold.

The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion in Some Southern States

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.

California Leaders Tussle With Health Industry Over Billions of New Dollars for Medi-Cal

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to pull funds earmarked for new investment in Medi-Cal to help plug California’s $45 billion deficit. A state budget passed June 13 by the legislature largely endorsed Newsom’s plan. Voters could settle the matter in an industry-backed initiative that has qualified for the November ballot.

California Lawmakers Preserve Aid to Older, Disabled Immigrants

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Lawmakers passed a budget that rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to save nearly $95 million by eliminating in-home support services for qualifying older, blind, and disabled immigrants lacking legal residency. Advocates say Newsom’s plan would have cost more in the long run. Newsom has not indicated whether he’ll veto.