Columnist: ‘Time Has Come’ for Insurance Oversight Bill
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones (D) "is sponsoring a bill (AB 52), carried by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), that would require insurers to obtain approval from state regulators before increasing medical insurance rates," George Skelton writes in a Los Angeles Times "Capitol Journal" column. Skelton continues that, while opponents of the legislation "have a valid point in arguing that the federal and -- especially -- state governments are driving up costs" for policyholders by cutting payments for Medicare and Medi-Cal services, this "bill's time has come." Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. He concludes, "We shouldn't be leaving medical coverage costs solely to the whim of the insurance industry."
- "Making a Case for Regulating Medical Insurance in California" (Skelton, "Capitol Journal," Los Angeles Times, 5/2).