 |
|||||
|
 |
 |
|||
 |
|||||
Health Insurance RightsCalifornians now have the right to sue HMO's and other Health Insurers. The California legislature has recently passed, and the Governor has signed, bills giving residents of California the right to sue their health insurers, including HMO's, in the event the insurance company, or HMO, denies treatment. This is a major victory for the people of the State of California. If the legislation works as intended, it will provide greater access to medical insurance to the vast majority of Californians. In summary, the law requires HMO's to give you the opportunity to get a second opinion. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, if you are forced to go out of your network or plan, to get needed treatment, you will have the right to sue the HMO to obtain payment for the treatment you had previously been denied. Previously this type of action was preempted by ERISA. It is not surprising that it took so long for this reform to occur because, the people who work for the government have had this right all along. It never effected the legislators. Therefore, they had no incentive to fix the problem. LegislationThe U.S House of Representative will soon adopt similar measures to allow law suits against HMO's and other Health Insurers. The House of Representatives has passed similar legislation to that adopted in California, which, if it becomes law, will give a national scope to the changes adopted by California. If you think this reform is necessary, you should contact your senator and urge him or her to adopt the bill passed by the House of Representatives. The new law in California will help us help you. For the past ten years we have been fighting for the rights of insureds against insurance companies. We have a great deal of experience in resolving health insurance disputes. We have obtained settlements and judgments against insurers and HMO's for failing to provide proper testing, failing to provide referral to a specialist, failing to do a necessary procedure requiring the patient to go out of network for treatment, and many other disputes. Please contact us regarding your problem with your health insurance company, or HMO. Call for a free consultation 800-4INSLAW (800-446-7529) Life InsuranceWe have experience in resolving life insurance claims. Did you know that if the policy has been in force for more than two years when the insured dies, the insurance company is obligated to pay the claim? However, in many cases, what may seem like a proper denial on the face of it is improper under the law. Life Insurance CasesFor example, we had a case where the insured died from an overdose of cocaine. He was insured under an accidental death policy issued by his employer. The insurance company found that the accident was not an accidental death under the law and denied the claim. After we completed the administrative review of the claim, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of the minor son of the person who died. The court found that in fact the cocaine overdose was an accident, and the insurance company paid the $500,000 life insurance benefit. Call for a free consultation 800-4INSLAW (800-446-7529) |
 |
