The California Legislature had an active year, passing many new laws affecting health care—with a strong focus on health care coverage, drug prescribing, public health and mental health issues.
The California Medical Association has published a summary of the most significant new health laws of interest to physicians. For more details, see "Significant New California Laws of Interest to Physicians for 2020."
Resources for physicians and health care providers on the latest news, research and developments.
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January 25, 2021
The state is failing to support the mental health of more than 5 million of the state’s most vulnerable children,
CMA works tirelessly on behalf of its nearly 50,000 members to support physician-led advocacy from legislation and poli...
January 23, 2021
CMA has partnered with a coalition—including business groups, health care providers and Assemblymember Autumn Burke—to ...
January 22, 2021
As the vaccine rollout continues, COVID-19 variants that may be more transmissible have become increasingly common acro...
January 20, 2021
President Biden issued a number of health care-related executive orders, including one that requires masks and physical...
HHS announced last week it would expand access to medication-assisted treatment by exempting physicians from certain ce...
HHS recently announced that it will be pushing back the reporting timeline for the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Progr...
CMA has made major updates to its COVID-19 vaccine FAQ, including questions on labor and personnel issues, professional...
January 19, 2021
As COVID-19 vaccines are distributed, the Medical Board of California is supporting the state's efforts to ensure that ...
The program—which aims to increase access to care for California’s 13 million Medi-Cal patients—awards loan repayment g...
January 14, 2021
The ACEs Aware initiative is hosting a live, one-hour webinar on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, at 12 p.m. to provide evi...
The updated guidance also includes a new recommendation for vaccine providers to use 50% of “second doses” received to ...
January 13, 2021
Governor Gavin Newsom today announced changes to vaccination eligibility guidelines that will allow counties to begin i...
California Medical Association President Peter N. Bretan, Jr., M.D., issued a statement in response to California's rev...
January 12, 2021
CMA is pleased that Gov. Newsom has put forward a balanced budget that protects access to health care – particularly fo...
CMS Administrator Seema Verma, M.D., on January 7, 2021, announced that she had taken official action to withdraw the p...
On December 21, 2020, the 116th Congress adopted a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package, which allocates an additional ...
CMA is hosting a free webinar to update physician practices about the latest federal stimulus act. The one-hour webinar...
HHS Secretary Alex Azar has extended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) for an additional 90 days. This means t...
CDPH has launched the California Immunization Registry – Medical Exemption website to request, issue, manage and track ...
January 11, 2021
The Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative today announced a new resource to build vaccine confidence and address healt...
To help expedite the administration and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the California Department of Public Health (...
This free webinar series offers innovative technical advice and solutions to meet rural California’s critical access to...
January 09, 2021
California Medical Association President Peter N. Bretan, Jr., M.D., issued a statement in response to Gov. Gavin Newso...
January 06, 2021
Had Congress not taken action, the Medicare physician payment final rule indicated that there would be a 10.2% across-t...
January 05, 2021
The next webinar in our monthly Virtual Grand Rounds series – COVID-19 Winter Surge and Vaccine Rollout – Is Hope on th...
Governor Gavin Newsom last week released the California Safe Schools for All plan, California’s framework to support sc...
January 04, 2021
CMA has published a summary of the most significant new health laws of interest to physicians. For more details, see "S...
DHCS says claims will not be processed until additional system changes are made, which isn’t expected until late Janu...
Eligible small businesses and nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can now apply for the California Small Busin...
December 22, 2020
Physicians who are participating in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) should take note of these important...
On December 21, 2020, the 116th Congress adopted a massive $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package and a $900 billion CO...
CMA's Center for Economic Services has published updated profiles on each of the major payors in California.
CMA has published frequently asked questions (FAQ) about these Cal/OSHA emergency temporary standards and their applica...
California Medical Association President Peter N. Bretan, Jr., M.D., issued a statement in response to the appointment ...
CMA has learned that the contract between Hill Physicians Medical Group and Anthem Blue Cross will be terminated for th...
December 21, 2020
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a recent update to its Provider Relief Fund frequently as...
December 18, 2020
California is in the first stage of vaccinating individuals against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. We have...
On Friday, December 18, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced its plan for reimbursement of the admin...
December 17, 2020
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reviewed applications for phase 3 of the Provider Relief Fun...
Once again, it’s time for physicians to decide if they want to make changes to their Medicare participation status. Due...
On December 11, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) issued an all plan letter (APL) and an FAQ inst...
December 15, 2020
Friday evening, a new bipartisan, bicameral proposal to address surprise medical billing—The No Surprises Act—was intro...
In 2018, Congress passed the SUPPORT Act— the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treat...
On Sunday, December 13, 2020, the first doses of the highly anticipated COVID-19 vaccine arrived in California and roll...
December 14, 2020
CMA his hosting a webinat that will focus on the future of pandemic-era telehealth laws and waivers. The one-hour webin...
"A Primer on Designing GME in Rural Clinical Facilities” will offer innovative technical advice and solutions to meet r...
December 11, 2020
The California Surgeon General released a report that serves as a blueprint for how communities, states, and nations ca...