CALIFORNIA: WOMEN’S HEALTH BILLS MOVE THROUGH LEGISLATURE

      Two bills that seek to improve the health care provided to
 women through HMOs and a bill guaranteeing patients the right to
 a second opinion passed the California Assembly yesterday.  They
 were "the second set of bills approved this year by the Assembly"
 that apply pressure on the managed care industry, LOS ANGELES
 TIMES reports.  One measure (AB 7), would require HMOs and other
 health insurers to cover at least a 48-hour hospital stay after a
 woman undergoes a mastectomy.  The bill would allow a woman to
 waive that right after consultation with her doctor, and would
 also establish a minimum 24-hour hospital stay for lymph node
 dissections.  Another bill (AB 160) would require insurers to
 cover the costs of FDA-approved contraceptives.  The second-
 opinion legislation (AB 341), sponsored by Assemblyman Michael
 Sweeney (D), passed the Assembly by a 48-15 vote.
      CHANCES ARE:  According to the TIMES, many Republicans
 charged that "the Legislature was trying to micro-manage the
 medical profession."   The TIMES reports that it remains
 "unclear" whether any of the bills passed by the Assembly would
 become law.  While they are "expected to receive a friendly
 hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee,"
 similar contraceptive measures were turned back in the last two
 years.  A spokesperson for Gov. Pete Wilson (R) "said it would be
 premature for the governor to comment on this year's package of
 bills" (Vanzi, 5/20).