CALIFORNIA HMOs: FINED FOR VIOLATING CONSUMER LAW
Forty-three California health plans, including "some of theThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
industry's best-known names," were fined a total of $515,000
yesterday by the California Corporations Commission for
"fail[ing] to notify their members of their right to register
complaints with the state by calling a toll-free 800 number."
California Corporations Commissioner Keith Bishop said that the
large number of plans that failed to comply with the law, which
was passed in January of 1996, was "disturbing and unacceptable."
Bishop also "said other health plans have not responded to the
agency's requests for information and may be subject to future
disciplinary actions."
EMBARRASSMENT: "The state's action is a big embarrassment
to HMOs, which have been striving to repair their image amid a
barrage of negative publicity over industry practices," LOS
ANGELES TIMES reports. Plans fined include WellPoint,
Pacificare, Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, Cigna and FHP (Olmos,
1/22).