The law requires health plans to pay the routine care costs of patients who participate in clinical trials for the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer and other life-threatening conditions.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius could find herself pitted between top Democrats on Capitol Hill and state insurance commissioners over a key section of the health care overhaul.

The group's decision to install its own machine puts it squarely in the middle of a controversy over whether doctors should be allowed to order advanced diagnostic imaging tests — MRIs, CT or PET scans — for Medicare and Medicaid patients in their offices.

President Barack Obama's administration asked U.S. doctors Monday to get on board with health reform legislation passed in March, saying those who embrace change will prosper.

The number of Californians who lost jobs and health insurance probably increased in every county last year, according to a study released Monday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.