07/22/2008 GAAS:567:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | Email / Share
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Health Care Protection Bill
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today
signed AB
1150 by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) which bans health insurance
companies from rewarding their employees for canceling or limiting
a patient's health insurance. While the Governor signed AB 1150 because of the
urgent need to protect consumers from unfair health care rescissions, he
continues to believe that health care reform must be comprehensive. To that end,
he has proposed legislation that would be the building blocks of comprehensive
health care reform and is working with the legislature on a joint solution that
will protect consumers, control costs and promote
prevention.
"Until we achieve comprehensive health care reform,
stopping unfair health care rescissions is an urgently needed consumer
protection," Governor Schwarzenegger said. "This terrible practice further
illustrates the erosion of our health care system and the need for comprehensive
health care reform. Today we are standing up for consumers by putting an end to
a deplorable practice, and I will continue working with my partners in the
legislature to stop unfair health care rescissions once and for
all."
The Governor's goal of comprehensive health care reform
would make health care rescissions a problem of the past. The Governor's AB x1 1, the Health
Care Security and Reduction Act, would have required that all Californians take
responsibility for their health
coverage while guaranteeing that no Californian is turned away from buying
insurance based on their age or medical history.
To increase consumer protections, the Governor's
legislative proposal on rescission includes stronger upfront requirements for
health plans before they issue coverage to individuals, protects patients from
being rescinded if their doctor never told them about a medical condition that
affects their ability to obtain coverage and provides for an independent
third-party review when a health plan seeks to rescind or cancel an enrollee's
coverage.
As part of the Governor's commitment to
covering Californians and stopping unfair health care
rescissions, his Department of
Managed Health Care (DMHC) has reached groundbreaking
agreements with all of California's major health plans over the last few
months where they've agreed to reinstate coverage to California consumers whose
health care coverage had been rescinded. Last week, DMHC fined Anthem Blue Cross $10 million, which is the largest fine ever reported to be
collected against an individual health insurer in the nation.
