The Schwarzenegger administration has summoned representatives from the state's largest health insurers to Sacramento, as
four different investigations into insurers' illegal rescission practices wind down, Capitol Weekly reports.
"The Schwarzenegger administration will once again intervene -- this time with the State Supreme Court -- on behalf of a man who sued Blue Shield for illegally dropping his health insurance after he was permanently injured in a car accident.
"The Department of Managed Health Care has summoned representatives from the state's five largest health insurance providers to Sacramento Wednesday to tell them they intend to file an amicus brief against Blue Shield, and will explain to health insurers the department's view of how the recent appellate court decision in the Hailey case has fundamentally altered health insurance policy and regulation in California.
"
Administration sources say they will use Wednesday's meeting to tacitly industry officials to come up with new policies regarding unlawful rescissions of customers' health insurance. Last year, the Department of Managed Health Care found Blue Cross has illegally dropped 90 customers from their insurance rolls only after those patients made insurance claims. The department is close to winding up investigations into complaints against four other health plans -- Blue Shield, United, PacificCare and HealthNet -- in the coming weeks."
San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom came to Sacramento yesterday, and
hinted of a possible 2010 run for governor.
Dan Walters writes "Newsom came to the Sacramento Press Club to talk about health care, especially to declare support for a potential lawsuit challenging cutbacks in state-financed care for the poor. But when asked the inevitable question about 2010, he branded such speculation "wildly premature" and then in the next breath said if he could "add value" to the state he "surely will consider" running."
"There have been rumbles in political circles for weeks that Newsom is interested in the governorship. The list of Democratic potentials already includes Attorney General (and former governor)
Jerry Brown, Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa, Treasurer
Bill Lockyer, state schools Superintendent
Jack O'Connell, Lt. Gov.
John Garamendi and former Controller
Steve Westly.
"Were Newsom to make his candidacy official and wind up running against Jerry Brown, it would mark a new chapter in the decades-long relationship between the Brown and Newsom families. The Browns and the Newsoms have been close personal friends for at least a half-century, and Brown appointed Newsom's father, William, as a Superior Court judge and appellate court justice."
As expected, "Newsom
criticized $600 million in cuts to the Medi-Cal program Tuesday, saying it will devastate California's ability to provide health care to the poor and elderly.
"He said a lawsuit may be the only way to force lawmakers to restore funding and ensure adequate coverage.
"In February, the state Legislature approved 10 percent cuts to the reimbursement rates paid to doctors who treat Medi-Cal patients as part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to trim a $16 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1."
Meanwhile, Newsom
is walking a tightrope between Olympics organizers that are bringing the torch through San Francisco and activists promoting Tibetan independence.
"Newsom said Tuesday that he isn't trying to hide the torch relay route and that it has not been released because it remains a work in progress. He said protesters already know the relay will start near AT&T Park and end at Justin Herman Plaza at Market Street and The Embarcadero because they have filed applications for permits at those two areas.
"Activists have accused the city of withholding public information and say Newsom wants to set up "free speech zones" that limit where they can protest. But Newsom said Tuesday that protesters can set up shop anywhere along the parade route without a permit as long as they do not disrupt the relay.
"'You don't need a permit to protest,' Newsom said."
Beyond the standard politicians that Newsom might be running against,
possible 2010 candidates include four current or past technology executives, writes Mike Zapler in the Merc News.
"The names of four tech moguls come up frequently:
Carly Fiorina, Steve Poizner, Meg Whitman and Steve Westly.
"None of the four has declared as a candidate, but at this point Poizner and Westly seem the most likely to run.
"'The reality is we have a lot of talent in the valley,' said
Jim Hawley, a senior vice president for TechNet, a political network of tech chief executives. 'It's been used to grow companies, and now it may be used to grow the state.'"
The LAT's Michael Rothfeld reports on
Clint Eastwood's reaction to being dropped from the state parks commission. "After
Clint Eastwood learned last week that his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer wanted him on the state parks commission, he spoke with
Bobby Shriver, the governor's brother-in-law, who had also been dropped. Somewhat incredulous, they joked about it, each saying the other should be more offended.
"'I talked to him the day we were not reappointed, or as Donald Trump would say, 'You're fired,' ' Eastwood said in an interview, his gravelly impression of Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent producing a kind of Dirty Harry-meets-the Terminator effect.
"
'So we laughed about it,' Eastwood said, 'and I said, 'Me? But you're his brother-in-law!' and he said, 'But you're his friend and longtime mentor!' '"Eastwood and Shriver have attributed the governor's move to their opposition to a plan to build the Foothill South toll road through San Onofre State Beach, a park in Orange County that is popular for its surfing and scenery. The project was defeated by the California Coastal Commission in February.
"'
I think it was just somebody got a bee under their bonnet at the right moment, so there we are,' Eastwood said. Of the governor, he added: 'I guess he felt we were going to be guys who were going to be obstructionists for anything through state parks.'"
Speaking of bees under bonnets, "Assemblyman
Hector De La Torre said Tuesday that he
was ousted as chairman of the powerful Rules Committee for challenging Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez's "golden handshake" offer to employees as a potential taxpayer ripoff," reports Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"De La Torre, D-South Gate, said he simply could not justify – despite Núñez's insistence – pension-sweetening offers to 222 employees, of whom 13 already qualify for pensions above $100,000 and an additional 12 for pensions of $70,000 to $99,999.
"'I felt it wasn't good for taxpayers and didn't make sense in light of everything else that's going on with the budget,' he said.
"De La Torre said it appeared that Núñez was pushing the golden handshake offer as a form of gratitude – "icing on the cake" – for Assembly employees in the lame-duck leader's final months.
Hmm, who's cake could they be talking about icing?
"
Steve Maviglio, Núñez's spokesman, declined to comment Tuesday.
"'It is and always will be an internal caucus matter,' he said of replacing De La Torre on the committee that oversees Assembly operations."
"California's political watchdog agency
filed a whopping $9 million countersuit Tuesday against state Sen. Carole Migden, three weeks after she sued the agency for preventing her from spending money she raised before being elected to the Senate.
"The counterclaim, filed in federal court in Sacramento, came a week after the San Francisco Democrat agreed to pay a record $350,000 fine for campaign spending violations in a separate case.
"
Ross Johnson, chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, charged Migden has repeatedly "deceived" voters by 'filing inaccurate campaign statements, fabricating the elimination of committees and concealing campaign funds.'
"
Richie Ross, Midgen's political consultant,
accused Johnson, a former Republican member of the Legislature, of a 'retaliatory, Nixonian tirade.'"Ross contends the FPPC, under Johnson, is preventing Migden from exercising her First Amendment right to free speech by denying her use of the money.
"In seeking more than $9 million in damages, the FPPC contends Migden failed to report a number of large transactions entirely and reported other large transactions that never occurred."
The state auditor had some harsh words for the state board overseeing chiropractors, finding the board
has dragged its heels on consumer complaints and violated open meeting laws, reports Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan.
"On Tuesday, the Bureau of State Audits released a 119-page report on the board, with plenty of blame to go around. It found serious problems with both the staff and the board members. This included Open Meeting Act violations and improper communications between board members. But it also found that the board had taken significant steps to address problems around management, procedures and enforcement actions against problem chiropractors.
"Those problems had led the Legislature to cut the board budget in half last year, from $3.1 million to $1.5 million. This forced the board to cut its staff from 17 people to 6. On Monday, a bill to restore that funding - AB450 by Assemblyman
Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands - cleared the Senate Business and Professions Committee by a unanimous vote."
"As California struggles with a multibillion-dollar deficit, the lead judge of the nation's largest state court system
pleaded his case at the Capitol on Tuesday for funds to pay for new courthouses, improved security and more judges," writes the Bee's Crystal Carreon.
"California Supreme Court Chief Justice
Ronald George, in his 13th annual State of the Judiciary address, acknowledged the current budget strain and said he was not asking for "sweeping new initiatives." But he stressed the need for resources "essential to the very integrity of the justice system."
To which we say, get in line, pal...
"'The failure to provide sufficient resources and personnel for the court system risks depriving California of an effective public civil justice system,' George said. 'I believe we all agree that a functional court system is not a luxury – it is an essential component of state government.'"
"A Fremont lawmaker
asked the attorney general today to investigate online gossip sites that critics say are hurtful and dangerous because they allow users to anonymously spread the kind of attacks once found only on bathroom walls," reports Steve Geissinger in the Merc News.
"Assemblyman
Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, cited JuicyCampus.com, which has expanded to include the University of California, Berkeley, and six Southern California universities.
"New Jersey authorities are probing JuicyCampus after a student complained that she had been terrorized by posts on the site that included her address, Torrico said.
"Officials there are trying to determine whether the site violated the state's consumer fraud act by suggesting that it doesn't allow offensive material, while providing no enforcement of that rule and no way for users to report or dispute the material."
And finally, an LA attorney now has the perfect card
when you want to say that special something to the criminal in your life.
"Attorney
Terrye L. Cheathem noticed a market Hallmark wasn't serving and founded Three Squares Greetings, which provides cards for inmates.
"'With more than 2.5 million people incarcerated in the Unites States today, I saw that there was a tremendous need,' she said.
"Cheathem said she came up with the cards when her brother-in-law served 11 months in prison. She said she went searching for the appropriate greeting card, but couldn't find what she was looking for.
"There weren't any cards on the shelf that said anything like, 'Hey, you must make better choices,'" she said.
That might explain the "even in solitary confinement, you're never alone" card we received last week...
