Make HMOs pay bills for ER care
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Re “State drafts rules for ER doctors’ payments,” April 1
California’s system of providing emergency healthcare faces potential disaster if the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pursues proposed rules regarding emergency room payments.
HMOs are refusing to pay the whole bill for emergency care for their policyholders. Policyholders are stuck with bills they rightly thought their HMOs were supposed to pay.
The solution is simple: The Department of Managed Health Care, which oversees HMOs, should require that these companies pay the bills, just as other states do.
Instead, the department proposed rules allowing HMOs to skip out on part of the bill. How many more ERs must close in California before Schwarzenegger realizes that we have a problem?
When will Sacramento understand that doctors work for patients, not for health plans or the government? We have no intention of taking our focus away from our patient obligations.
These rules must be withdrawn and the state’s health insurance companies held accountable.
David H. Aizuss MD
President
L.A. County Medical Assn.
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