DMHC licenses first

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The Family Care plan will be callex California Choice inthe state, and offer discounte d access to a range of physician, outpatient (such as physical therapy and mentapl health), laboratory, radiology and imaging, chiropractic, vision and hearing-care services. California Choice will offefr membership to a household fora $99 enrollmenyt fee and a monthly charge of $99.95, accordingv to DMHC, with discounts ranginvg from 5 to 40 percent for most services. the Houston-based health plan’s initial license is only valix fortwo years, reflecting cautio n on the part of the Sacramento-based which previously has cracked down on various discount health-carre card companies in the state.
Familty Care is licensed to operatethroughout Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Santa Clara, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, Orange and San Dieg counties, as well as the most populated areas of Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, San and 41 other counties, according to the department, and a number of local providers are already listed on its www.familycarecalifornia.conm web site. The DMHC said the economixc environment played a role in its decision to approvedFamily Care’s application for a license.
Thanks to the continuinv economic downturn, which has resulted in many individuals and families losinghealtg coverage, “it is in the best interesg of consumers to regulate and license legitimate discount health plans,” Cindy Ehnes, the DMHC’s said in a June 9 statement. She added that licensuree will ensure that consumerss will get promised discounts and “fully understand that these products are not health In the last six years, the agency’x Help Center has received more than 925 complaintw from consumers who were victim s of fraudulent discount health card companies, the DMHC Those consumers were misled into thinking they were purchasint regular health insurance or were unabld to find doctors who supposedly had contractec with the discount company.
The DMHC said it has issued severa Cease and Desist orders in an ongoing investigation into thisgrowinv industry, which in turn led to setting up a licensinv structure to protect consumers and provide states oversight. As a result, some companies decided to seek licensea proving they metregulatory standards. The current licensing requirements include verification ofdiscounts offered, legitimated contracts with doctors and other health care truthful advertising, and a process for consumers to resolve disputes with the according to DMHC.
Plans also must prominently disclosee that they are notoffering insurance, but rathefr a discount product through whicj members pay providers a discounted fee, usually at the time of Family Care’s web site displaysw such a statement at the bottom of each web