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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Individual Health-Insurance Rates to Rise 8.7% in 2019

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Friday, July 20, 2018   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Rates will go up an average of almost 9 percent next year for Californians who buy health insurance on the individual market, according to projections released Thursday by Covered California, the state insurance marketplace.

That's a smaller increase than many other states. But Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, says people in the Golden State would have paid much less had the Trump administration left the Affordable Care Act alone.

"This rate increase is about double what it should have been and could have been, but for federal policies,” says Lee, “in particular the removal of the penalty for not having insurance coverage."

President Donald Trump maintains the individual mandate violated people's freedoms. Lee adds that despite the changes, competition remains healthy. All 11 health insurers currently serving California will stay – and 96 percent of consumers still have least two choices of insurer.

Heather Altman, who has a preexisting condition – asthma – owns a small consulting firm in Long Beach. She buys coverage on the individual market, but doesn't qualify for subsidies and says she's not sure she can handle any more increases.

"As a small business person,” Altman says, “I'm asking myself, 'At what point in time do I pull the plug on my business if I can't afford my insurance?'"

Anthony Wright, with the nonprofit Health Access, advises people to stay covered rather than risk financial ruin, take advantage of the subsidies if you're eligible, and shop around. He also thinks lawmakers should be held accountable – particularly the 14 members of the California delegation who tried to repeal the ACA.

"It's shocking that California Congress members have been part of lawsuits and have cheered on efforts to destabilize the insurance market,” says Wright, "directly causing higher premium spikes for their own constituents."

Wright adds he supports two bills in the state Legislature, Senate Bills 910 and 1375. They'd limit substandard policies that may become common now that the feds are allowing so-called "skinny" insurance plans that are cheaper but have much less coverage.


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