"The Schwarzenegger administration will announce Thursday that it is
reinstating health insurance for some patients whose coverage was illegally canceled by health insurance companies," reports Capitol Weekly.
Earlier this month, Capitol Weekly reported on 90 cancellation complaints filed against Blue Cross that were reviewed by state regulators. The department found that all 90 cancellations were illegal, but did not exercise its authority to reinstate health insurance for those enrollees. In all, there were as many as 6,000 Blue Cross patients who had their coverage illegally canceled.
"I'm delighted to hear there will be reinstatement and I praise the department for taking this action," said Sen.
Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, the committee chairwoman. "It's hard to catch up once you've been rescinded. I'm not sure what the department is going to do for those people, but I hope some attention will be paid to that."
Jerry Flanagan, a consumer activist with Consumer Watchdog, has led the call for the department to reinstate those whose coverage has been illegally rescinded. He said he was eager to see the details of the department's announcement.
"The key thing is, the department's definition of reinstatement has meant the plan doesn't have to pay for any of the medical expenses between the time of the rescission and the reinstatement.
It's really critical for what they are calling reinstatement. The statute's really clear that it has to be retroactive to the date of rescission and that the plan has to pay for all the medical costs that have been incurred."
In Los Angeles Wednesday,The state's largest for-profit health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, was accused Wednesday of
a widespread pattern of false advertising and fraud in a $1-billion lawsuit that claims that the company's coverage "is largely illusory,'" reports the LAT's Lisa Girion.
"Los Angeles City Atty.
Rocky Delgadillo alleged in the suit that the insurer sold people false promises of coverage and concealed a scheme to renege on policies for those diagnosed with serious and often expensive medical conditions, including cancer and congestive heart failure. The suit says more than 500,000 people were tricked into buying individual and family policies from Blue Cross."
"A deepening divide between two of the nation's largest labor groups – prompted by a maverick California nurses union – has labor leaders
worried the rift could "devastate" the movement's election-year priorities," reports Shane Goldmacher in the Bee.
"Service Employees International Union, with 1.7 million members, has instructed local chapters across America to withhold funding from state and local labor federations to protest what they call union-poaching activity by the California Nurses Association.
"The move could cost labor central committees – the backbone of labor's sophisticated political and get-out-the-vote operation – millions of dollars on the eve of June 3 legislative primaries in California and the Nov. 4 presidential contest.
"It could prevent labor federations in California from fully flexing their muscles in contested Democratic primaries for the state Legislature. Labor also has made electing a Democratic president a top priority in 2008.
"'It would devastate the labor council,' said
John Borsos, president of the Sacramento Central Labor Council. The move, he said, would deprive the group 'of the funds necessary to sustain a political campaign.'
"
John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, is scrambling to negotiate a truce, urging SEIU to continue paying dues and calling the holdout 'a damaging affront to the determined, united efforts of the labor movement.'"
The LAT's Phil Willon
covers the unveiling of CRAFT.
"California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow will work with the California Republican Party to find candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and state office seats starting in 2010, when Schwarzenegger terms out of office.
"Among the potential gubernatorial candidates courted by the group is former EBay Chief Executive
Meg Whitman, the 51-year-old billionaire who is now campaigning for Republican presidential hopeful Sen.
John McCain and once served as a fundraiser for his rival,
Mitt Romney, according to one source.
"(Other Republicans have encouraged Whitman to run as well.)
"The executive director, former California Republican Party Chairman
Duf Sundheim, said the new group is led by Republicans who represent the party's entire political spectrum.
"'
We are seeking winners, and winners come in different shapes. There is not a total template that they have to fit,' [
Pete] Wilson said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.
"'As governor I supported candidates, whether they were pro-choice or pro-life, if they were strong Republicans and strong candidates. You want people who are attractive [candidates], you want people of principle."
OK, so then what exactly is the party doing?
Steve Wiegand
writes: "Wednesday's speakers said their new group will groom prospective candidates for actually doing the jobs, not just winning them. That in itself is a novel concept.
"In addition, they pledged not to become kingmakers. CRAFT won't recruit candidates, nor will it endorse in primaries or make campaign contributions.
"The speakers took pains to assuage the doubts of conservative Republicans who are suspicious the group's real aim is to enhance the chances of moderate Reeps in wresting the party's nominations, which have often been dominated by candidates too right-wing to be electable in a general election.
"
'This is about winning, and that's what's important,' said Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines, a conservative's conservative. 'It's not about ideology.'"
CW's John Howard reports that
the insurance commissioner wants to consolidate regulation of the health care industry. Insurance Commissioner
Steve Poizner says authority over the state's sprawling health care insurance industry should be put under one regulator, instead of having dual chiefs with responsibility over separate turf.
"'I absolutely support combining the two,' Poizner told a gathering of the California Medical Association on Tuesday. 'We should have unified regulation over all health insurance." Poizner stopped short of saying his office should be that sole regulator, but that was suggested by his remarks.'"
"Faced with angry opposition from Los Angeles County supervisors, state lawmakers Wednesday
sidelined an effort by the city of Industry to get millions of dollars in tax subsidies that could help lure a National Football League team back to the area," writes the LAT's Patrick McGreevy.
"Backed by developer
Ed Roski Jr., who wants to build a football stadium on 600 vacant acres he owns in Industry, the city had asked for power to divert $829 million in county property tax revenue from basic government services to subsidize unnamed development projects.
"But county officials, complaining that much of the money would come from their already tight budget, blitzed state lawmakers with letters and phone calls demanding that they vote against the proposal.
"Minutes before its first hearing, Senate Majority Leader
Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who had gutted an unrelated bill of its contents and replaced it with Industry's bid, pulled the proposal from consideration. Her Senate district includes Industry, home to 804 people."
George Skelton
looks at the legacy and future of Fabian Nuñez.
"Let's get right to the point in grading Nuñez's tenure: He was always trying and often triumphing. The failures -- notably luxuriating in his bulging political bankroll -- were mostly detrimental to himself, not to the public.
"On public policy, he was focused, not scatterbrained -- an occasional affliction of political leadership. He didn't hide in his office, as some timid leaders have. He was readily accessible to reporters. He took risks. And not to be underestimated: He exuded a positive personality -- civil and cheerful.
"The power of the speaker doesn't just come from what you do in here," Nuñez told me, sitting on a leather couch in his 19th century, high-ceilinged office just off the Assembly chamber. '
It also comes from your ability to influence the outcome of elections. People don't respect a Democratic leader who can't influence what happens in political races.'
"'This has been an incredible ride, the best experience of my life. You never could dream this stuff. But I also know that when it's time to go, it's time to go.'
"
Where's he going? Probably into the private sector for a while to make big bucks. But for 2010, Nuñez is eyeing a race for state insurance commissioner -- Republican incumbent Steve Poizner is planning to run for governor -- or for the state Senate seat of termed-out Democrat Gil Cedillo."'My wife might say to me, 'Get out and stay out,' ' he says. 'Just the fact I got to do this job, I could die and go to heaven and be happy.'"
Dan Weintraub
talks to Matthew Cate, the new prisons chief. "Cate, a former prosecutor, says he never really saw himself as a prison administrator. He was working on public corruption cases in the attorney general's office when a former boss who had gone to work for Schwarzenegger recruited him to be inspector general. From there, with a front-row seat on the biggest mess in state government, he couldn't resist the chance to take responsibility for fixing all the problems his office helped expose.
"'I kind of caught the bug,' he said. 'I am interested in it. The more I've worked in it, it's become kind of a passion for me.'
"Actually putting changes in place as head of the prison system rather than its chief critic, he said, 'is going to make a bigger difference for California than if I write another report saying the department isn't accomplishing X, Y or Z.'"
And finally, from our
Finger Lickin' Good Files, the AP reports Police in Magnolia, Ark., say
it wasn't the fried chicken in Savalas Vantoli Stewart's car that gave off a funky smell.
"Instead, officers who pulled over Stewart on Friday night say they found a side dish of marijuana hidden in a recently purchased box of chicken.
"Police say officers smelled marijuana coming from the car and found it after Stewart consented to a search. Officers say they also found several Ecstasy pills in Stewart's pockets.
"The 33-year-old Waldo resident faces a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge and felony drug possession charge."
Who knew chicken was illegal in Arkansas?
