California HMO Overseers To Go Before Senate Health Committee
Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) will hold a hearing before the Senate Health Committee today that will investigate how the Department of Managed Health Care has handled a number of issues with HMOs in California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The issues that will be covered include:
- Insurers' practice of retroactively canceling health coverage after members submit claims;
- Mental health coverage;
- The status of rules to implement a 2002 law designed to ensure timely access to care;
- Availability of language-assistance services; and
- Plans for regulation of so-called "discount" health plans.
Anthony Wright -- executive director of Health Access, who will testify at the hearing -- said, "On a couple of these issues there's been a tendency for the department to abdicate to the (insurance) industry, and I think that has raised some concern."
DMHC officials defended the agency's record on protecting consumers (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/27). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.