Legislation would crack down on insurers

[Celebration]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/14/BUGGV1ML2.DTL

A California lawmaker introduced legislation Wednesday that would require health insurers to get permission from state regulators before retroactively canceling a member's coverage.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate (Los Angeles County), comes on the heels of news this week that Blue Cross of California had been sending letters to doctors asking them to report pre-existing conditions and discrepancies that could be used to cancel a new member's policy.

While Blue Cross defended the practice when initially confronted, the company made an about-face late Tuesday and said it would stop sending the letters to physicians. Blue Cross said it had been using the letters for years but "determined this letter is no longer necessary."

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Health insurance companies have a legal right to cancel coverage if a member lied or withheld medical information from his or her health questionnaire. But insurers have been accused of using minor discrepancies and omissions as grounds for pulling coverage, leaving members with huge medical bills.

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Anthony Wright, head of the consumer group Health Access California, said he supports De La Torre's effort because insurers seem intent on finding ways to deny people coverage.

[havocmom]

1. Any universal health care plan that takes money from payroll for these guys will fail

Gotta go to single payer or workers will be even more at risk. If you have to give these guys $$ in order to work, who protects you from them.

Glad to see Calif is taking them on in this scheme of getting personal physicians to protect insurers from the insured.