Response to DMHC Announcement on Rescission
April 17, 2008
Contact: Nicole Kasabian Evans
Statement from California Association of Health Plans' President & CEO Christopher Ohman
SACRAMENTO -- "Everyone deserves to have access to affordable health care and to know it will be there for them when they need it, which is why, one year ago, the California Association of Health Plans reached out to the Department of Managed Health Care to encourage new approaches to improve rescissions processes.
"Over the past year we opened the door to develop a government-industry solution to address concerns with the application process, internal procedures and how health plans determine rescissions. We haven't waited, however, for this government-industry effort to resolve itself to make improvements.
"On their own, health plans have been implementing new policies to strengthen and make more transparent the process for rescinding policies, including developing an outside third-party review process in which an independent agent validates whether a rescission is warranted. Plans also have simplified and clarified their application processes and enhanced staff training.
"While the number of rescission cases remains extremely small, California's health plans have been in the process of working with policy makers and legislators to further refine this process to ensure California consumers continue to be protected, they are treated fairly and their health care costs remain low."
BACKGROUND
The California Association of Health Plans' goal is to protect all consumers - to ensure their costs are kept low and they are treated fairly. Health plans rarely rescind: Only one tenth of 1 percent - a tiny fraction - of the individual policies in the state are rescinded. Rescission is limited to the individual market and applies only to the 2.6 million Californians who pay for their own coverage in individual plans, not the 28 million Californians insured through their employers, Medicare, Medi-Cal or other public programs.
CAHP is a statewide trade association representing 39 full-service health plans. Through legislative advocacy, education and collaboration with other member organizations, CAHP works to sustain a strong environment in which our member plans can provide access to products that offer choice and flexibility to the more than 24 million members they serve. For more information, please visit www.calhealthplans.org or call (916) 552-2910.
For media inquiries, please contact Nicole Kasabian Evans, our Vice President of Communications, via e-mail (nevans@calhealthplans.org) or at 916.552.2914.
