Wider Insurance Coverage To Push California's Heath Policy Premium By $383 Million A Year

Sacramento, CA (AHN) - One of the pending bills waiting for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature is a proposal to expand the coverage of medical policies to include maternity service, tests for the HPV virus, which could cause cervical cancer, treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems.

But with the wider medical coverage for 18 million California residents, premiums would go up by $383 million annually, equivalent to 0.5 percent of the $74 billion that employers and individuals pay, according to data from the University of California's Health Benefits Review Program.

Because of the premium hike, 3,200 people will likely drop the policies, the UC estimated.

California mandates insurance firms to offer 44 benefits, one of the highest in the nation, although not every policy has to include all 44. But it must include all medically necessary procedures.

Other medical-related bills pending before the governor's desk is one that would require insurers to cover HIV screening among people without symptoms and and another that includes the cost of special formulas and food for patients whose digestive system cannot absorb nutrients due to a rare genetic disorder.

The separate health bills has been criticized for failing to provide a comprehensive policy reform.

Daniel Zingale, senior adviser to the governor, lamented, quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, said, "The Legislature has failed for a second year in a row to address the crisis in our health care delivery system."