California Medical Association

STATE SUPREME COURT ALLOWS CALIF . MEDICAL ASSOCIATION TO SUE AETNA FOR THREATS TO DOCTORS WHO REFER PATIENTS OUT OF NETWORK

East County News Service

July 17, 2023 (Sacramento) -- The California Medical Association (CMA) has achieved a significant victory for healthcare providers, consumers and public interest advocates in the case of California Medical Association v. Aetna Health of California Inc. The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of CMA, confirming  the organization's legal standing to sue Aetna Health for alleged violations of the Unfair Competition Law (UCL).

The lawsuit centers on an Aetna Health policy that targeted the use of out-of-network benefits by its PPO plan members. CMA alleges that the insurance company discouraged its members from going out of network even though their PPO plans included such benefits, and that Aetna Health harassed or terminated its contracted physicians for referring PPO members to out-of-network facilities.

Such a policy, according to CMA, directly interfered with the doctor-patient relationship and physicians’ independent medical judgment, in violation of numerous state laws. CMA sued Aetna Health to stop what it calls “harmful and illegal policy.”


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BILL WOULD REQUIRE PATIENTS BE NOTIFIED WHEN THEIR DOCTOR IS ON PROBATION FOR SERIOUS MEDICAL OFFENSES

 

East County News Service

May 10, 2016 (Sacramento) -- If your doctor was put on probation by the Medical Board for serious misconduct, should you have the right to know about it?


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CALIF. MEDICAL ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION INITIATIVE

 

East County News Service

February 1, 2016 (Sacamento)—The California Medical Association, the largest professional association of doctors in our state, today announced its support for a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use.

CMA has emphasized that it does not endorse marijuana use and discourages smoking.  “But ultimately,” a release issued by the medical group states that its members “believe that the most effective way to protect the public health is to tightly control, track and regulate marijuana and to comprehensively research and educate the public on its health impacts, not through ineffective prohibition.”


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.