Arbitration: health care service plans: Lindalee’s Law., the official text

An act to add Section 12529.9 to the Government Code, relating to arbitration.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract that includes terms requiring binding arbitration for dispute settlement to provide a specified disclosure to subscribers or enrollees. Existing law, the California Arbitration Act, provides a statutory framework for the enforcement of contractual arbitration under California law. Existing law establishes standards for arbitration, and requires a court to vacate an arbitration award if it makes certain findings.
This bill would require the Attorney General to oversee compliance by health care service plans with specified provisions regulating the use of binding arbitration to settle disputes. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to require reports from health care service plans for this purpose.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 12529.9 is added to the Government Code, to read:
12529.9.
(a) The Attorney General shall have oversight over, and may require reports from, health care service plans to ensure that health care service plan contracts that include a term requiring the parties to submit to binding arbitration to settle disputes comply with the requirements set forth in Section 1363.1 and Sections 1373.19 to 1373.21, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, an arbitration claim initiated pursuant to a health care service plan shall be conducted pursuant to Title 9 (commencing with Section 1280) and Title 9.1 (commencing with Section 1295) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) The authority of the Attorney General to act based on the oversight granted under subdivision (a), including investigating and prosecuting violations of state unfair competition laws or any other state law, is not narrowed, abrogated, or otherwise altered by this section or any other law.
(d) The authority of the Department of Managed Health Care to act under Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, including Section 1363.1 and Sections 1373.19 to 1373.21, inclusive, is not narrowed, abrogated, or otherwise altered by this section.