I was updating my list of actions taken on healthcare bills this week. The Governor has been busy vetoing or signing quite a few bills (thereby making more work for me in updating my list) and I thought I'd share a few with you.
SB 349: Vetoed by Governor. Would have required health plans and health insurers to provide paper copies of medical bills at no charge to the patient. My monthly health insurance is nearly $400 - for that they can't provide a free copy?
SB 1221: Vetoed by Governor. Would have required hospitals seeking financing through the state Health Facilities Financing Authority to demonstrate that they provide a benefit to the community. I'm not sure about this but it seems to make sense that they should be able to show they'll benefit the community.
SB 1440: Vetoed by Governor. Would require 85% of premiums and fees received by health insurers and health plans to be spent on treatment and patient benefits. I have no idea what percentage is currently spent so I looked for more info on this one. According to the President of the California Academy of Family Physicians (they sponsored the bill so there may be a slight bias here):
Current state law requires only that no more than 15% of such fees be spent on administrative costs such as marketing and executives' salaries. Health plans interpret this law to mean that profits can be taken from the remaining 85% of funds. SB 1440 would have specified that the full 85% of health plans' income from enrollees be dedicated to their care; profits would have to be found elsewhere. A recent survey by the California Medical Association showed that an additional $1 billion would be available each year for patient care if the 12 health plans in California that reported spending below the 85% mark were to meet the higher target.
SB 1441: Approved by Governor. This bill will create a Substance Abuse Coordination Committee in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The committee would be charged with overseeing substance abuse treatment for doctors, nurses, dentists and other health care professionals licensed by the state. Just on principle I'm opposed to creating new departments. Aside from that, however, I'm somewhat concerned that there is so much substance abuse among licensed healthcare professionals that someone feels there is a need for a department to oversee them.
AB 54: Vetoed by Governor. This one was vetoed in August. It would require group health plans to include acupuncture as a covered benefit. I don't have feelings one way or another on this. I had acupuncture once and it hurt so I don't care if my insurance covers it or not, but again, nearly $400/month - for that they should pay for needles to be stuck in me!
This is just a sampling of bills I found interesting. Hopefully you will too!
Robin, the lonely blog mistress
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