The state legislature has passed a measure that would require regulators to fine insurance companies that don't pay or underpay doctors' claims. H-M-Os call the bill unnecessary. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
Doctors complain they spend way too much time and money chasing down insurance companies for proper payment.
H-M-Os says state regulators already have the ability to go after insurers who don't pay medical claims. And H-M-Os say doctors are free to sue to collect their money.
San Diego physician Ted Mazer says that's absurd.
<b> Dr. Ted Mazer: </b> A doctor suing a health plan over a claim for a hundred or even a thousand dollars, will spend more on legal representation and lost time from taking care of patients, than they can ever get back on the claim.
California regulators say the measure could turn them into bill collectors.
Governor Schwarzenegger hasn't taken a position on the measure.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
