Quote of the Day:
An argument is the longest distance between two points of view.
--Dan Bennett
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 2 over the weekend, rejecting legislation that would put a stop to the insurance industry's outrageous practice of wrongfully canceling patients' coverage once they get very sick and run up large medical bills, the Los Angeles Times and other major papers report. Sponsored by the California Medical Association, AB 2 called for an independent review of decisions by insurers to rescind coverage.
The insurance industry's widespread abuse of the practice has drawn condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike.
In June, a congressional investigation found that three insurers had rescinded coverage for 20,000 patients over five years, saving their companies $300 million.
"With this veto, the Governor told Californians that insurance company profits are more important than their access to health care when they get sick and treatment becomes costly," said Dev GnanaDev, CMA president. "Without the patient protections of legislation like AB 2, there is no guarantee that Californians will have health insurance when they need it most."
Dev GnanaDev, president of the California Medical Assn., said Schwarzenegger's veto told Californians that "insurance company profits are more important than their access to healthcare."
Insurance firms and business leaders countered that the bill proposed unnecessary regulation and would have hurt the state's economic recovery.
Why did Governor Schwarzenegger terminate this bill?
Read on about the current federal legislation unfolding.....He punted this one over to the U.S. Congress, and maintained ties with the insurance industry, who wield a lot of power in California, besides health insurance.