This week is make or break for a California bill that has the potential to sap hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from dialysis providers in the state.
What's happening now: California's Legislature has until this Friday to pass SB 1156, a union-backed bill that would cap commercial dialysis payments at lower Medicare rates and force charities to disclose donors of third-party payments. If it passes, Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of September to sign it into law.
A group of Senate Republicans are responding to the latest Affordable Care Act lawsuit with a bill that would replace the pre-existing conditions protections the lawsuit would throw out.
Why it matters: While likely to be good politics heading into midterms, the GOP bill would both lower premiums and leave sick people less protected than they currently are. This is the circle that the party has been unable to square for a year and a half now.
