California Health Legislation Up For Final Votes

• INSURANCE COMPANY FINES: SB 1379 (Ducheny) Would use millions in fines levied on insurance companies for improperly rescinding coverage to fund two programs: high-risk pool for those rejected by insurance companies because of "pre-existing conditions"--which has a waiting list of nearly 1,000 Californians and financial aid program for physicians who serve in underserved areas. SUPPORT

• PREDATORY DENTAL PRACTICES: SB 1633 (Kuehl) Would prohibit dentists’ offices from offering high-interest loans to patients while they are under the influence of anesthesia. Would also prohibit dental offices from charging lines of credit before services have been rendered. SUPPORT

• UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES: AB 2842 (Berg) Would protect Californians from insurance agents trying to sell them private Medicare plans through cold calls and bait-and-switch tactics. SUPPORT

• HOSPITAL CLOSURES: AB 2400 (Price) Would require public notice before closing a hospital.
SUPPORT

ON SENATE FLOOR

• HIGH-RISK POOL: AB 2 (Dymally) Would reform the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Program, which provides coverage for “un-insureables” who have “pre-existing conditions.’’ Would institute reforms and generate revenues through fees to make the high risk pool more affordable and available. SUPPORT

• BALANCE BILLING IN EMERGENCY ROOMS: AB 1203 (Salas) Would prohibit balance billing by doctors and hospitals for care received after an emergency patient is stable enough to be transferred to a contracting hospital or released. SUPPORT

• MENTAL HEALTH PARITY: AB 1887 (Beall) Would require health plans to provide coverage for all diagnosable mental illnesses. SUPPORT

• LIMITING RESCISSIONS: AB 1945 (De La Torre) Would create an independent DMHC/DOI review if an insurer wants to rescind coverage, and raises the standard in existing law so that coverage can only be rescinded if a consumer willfully misrepresents his health history. SUPPORT

• BROKER ACCOUNTABILITY AND FAMILY COVERAGE AFTER RESCISSION: AB 2569 (De Leon) Would require brokers who take applications to attest that the information is complete and accurate to the best of their knowledge. Also ensures that family members whose coverage depends on that of the rescinded person may be offered another individual policy. SUPPORT

• PUBLIC INSURER: SB 973 (Simitian) Would create a statewide public insurer, connecting existing regional, county-based health care plans, to compete with private health care plans and provide consumers more affordable coverage choices. SUPPORT

• DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT: SB 1198 (Kuehl) Would require group health plans and insurers to offer coverage for durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and shower seats. SUPPORT

• CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSES: SB 1300 (Corbett) Would prohibit confidentiality clauses, which keep secret information on pricing and health care quality from consumers, in contracts between providers and insurers. SUPPORT

• CAPPING ADMINISTRATION AND PROFIT: SB 1440 (Kuehl) Would set a minimum medical loss ratio – requiring every insurer to spend at least 85 percent of premiums on patient care. SUPPORT

• FREQUENT ER USE: SB 1738 (Steinberg) Would continue pilot program in six counties that has provided frequent emergency room users with more cost-effective preventive care and disease maintenance through clinics and other resources. SUPPORT

HEADING TO GOVERNOR’S DESK

• MATERNITY COVERAGE: AB 1962 (De La Torre) Would require all individual insurance policies to cover maternity services. SUPPORT

• BOUTIQUE HOSPITALS: AB 2697 (Huffman) Would require so-called “boutique hospitals’’ to asses their impact on a community’s health system annually, specifically whether they siphon doctors, workers, providers from hospitals caring for less affluent populations. SUPPORT

• DEPENDENT CARE: SB 1168 (Runner) Would allow adult dependent children, who are still covered under their parents’ health plan, to stay on that coverage even if the child takes a medically necessary leave of absence from school. SUPPORT

Hanh Kim Quach is the Health Care Policy Coordinator for Health Access California. Before joining the organization, she worked as a journalist for nearly 9 years covering issues in California. Health Access California is a statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition of over 200 groups. This article has also been published on the Health Access Weblog.