California's $19 Billion Investment in Health Care Programs.
California's health care industry has reached a deal on how to spend $19 billion in proceeds of a renewed tax on insurance plans plus the federal funds that go with it. The agreement would impose a tax on health care plans in what those involved described as a once-in-a-generation investment into a system that serves nearly 16 million Californians. It would be the largest-ever investment in Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid system. The deal includes money to bolster struggling hospitals, ease workforce shortages and entice more specialists to see Medi-Cal patients.