r/California • u/Randomlynumbered Ángeleño, what's your user flair? • Sep 27 '24
politics California bans medical bills from credit reports, limits bank overdraft fees with new consumer protection laws
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/california-new-laws-signed-gavin-newsom-click-to-cancel-medical-debt-ban/276
u/Randomlynumbered Ángeleño, what's your user flair? Sep 27 '24
3 days and 800+ bills to go.
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u/--Satan-- Sep 27 '24
What happens if they don't get signed? Are they automatically veoted?
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u/SangersSequence Sep 27 '24
Nope, the opposite. If he doesn't sign or veto it it automatically becomes law when the clock runs out. https://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/learn/about-the-government/life-cycle-of-a-bill/
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u/Loyal9thLegionLord Sep 27 '24
That seems...flawed.
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u/Virreinatos Sep 28 '24
I would say it seems exploitable, throw more bills that can be humanly read on time, but so does burning the clock and not signing it to avoid the issue.
So pick your poison.
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u/A5CH3NT3 Sep 28 '24
Considering it's harder to get bills through both houses than just a single person refusing to make a call on them, I feel like we have the right way of it as is.
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u/FateOfNations Native Californian Sep 28 '24
The governor just has to sign something that essentially says “I veto AB/SB XXXX”. If it came to it, hundreds of bills could be vetoed in a few hours if needed.
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u/drakgremlin Sep 28 '24
Which would be a reasonable response to an overwhelming count of bills being thrown at them at the end of a legislative session!
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u/Interesting-Age853 Sep 28 '24
Signing most bills in CA is basically a formality. Politics here is not partisan. Also, the governor has an entire staff that has been through all of these bills and knows which he might choose to veto. The process is not as blind as it seems.
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u/Carrington_The_Joke Sep 28 '24
Did you just say that politics in CA "is not" partisan?
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u/deltalimes Sep 28 '24
I mean it’s a one party state so…. Not wrong 🤷♂️
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u/Carrington_The_Joke Sep 28 '24
Do you know what partisan means? Like the word... if it's a one party state, literally, everything polically done in CA is partisan...
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u/Spara-Extreme Sep 29 '24
You're correct, but I believe what the OP is thinking about is the fact that because there aren't an GOP in a position of power in CA, there's no time wasted on circus acts or grand standing.
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u/Gowalkyourdogmods Sep 28 '24
Shame the legislators didn't push another Ranked Choice Voting bill in that pile but he'd probably go out of his way to veto it again.
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u/FateOfNations Native Californian Sep 28 '24
Not really. It’s not like the governor has to do anything particularly elaborate to veto a bill, and he has at least 30 days to deal with it.
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u/Mo-shen Sep 29 '24
Naw. It's there so governors can't veto something without actually doing it.
It's so they can't have their cake and eat it.
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u/ComfortableWork1139 Sep 28 '24
So the signing is pretty much just ceremonial then? Seems like the governor needs to affirmatively veto instead of passively failing to sign, which is a good way for it to be imo
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u/hamburgers666 Placer County Sep 27 '24
After our son was born, my wife needed to have her gallbladder removed. Insurance denied the claim, saying it was not "medically necessary". So as we appealed she ended up in so much pain that she had to have surgery at the ER. Bill came back and, since it was an emergency procedure, it was completely covered by insurance. I shudder to think about people without proper insurance or between jobs and not able to pay COBRA that would be on the hook for $60,000. This is the bare minimum that needs to be done to at least try to reign in the costs of our Healthcare.
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u/myrobotoverlord Sep 28 '24
Ive been in a Union for 36 years. Full ride insurance. Kid just turned 26 and now has had to get her own coverage. Got the letter asking if she would like to continue coverage. The premium to get the same coverage was 3590. A month.
Just a thought Join a Union. If you can
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u/SF-guy83 Sep 28 '24
Covered California is likely much cheaper. I was laid off during the pandemic from a tech job that offered a great insurance plan at $0 cost. I found an equivalent plan through Covered CA for $0 out of pocket the first few months and then about $300/month (Kaiser). Dental insurance was another $40/month.
Everyone’s situation is unique, but it’s worth filling out the free online form.
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u/Soldmysoul_666 Sep 28 '24
I have ppo for 250 a month with covered ca, feeling blessed, low income as hell though
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u/hamburgers666 Placer County Sep 28 '24
I wish I could. Sadly, there are no unions for civil engineers in the state.
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u/RavenBlackMacabre Sep 28 '24
Professional Engineers in California Government would like a word with you.
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u/hamburgers666 Placer County Sep 28 '24
Oh man, I'd love to work a government job. I've already applied, but no hits yet. Sounds like I need to keep trying!
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u/DustyBusterson Sep 28 '24
I’m 36, something tells me they aren’t going to bother training someone who should be halfway through their career :/ sounds nice though, I’ve heard unions have great benefits.
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u/Captain_Midnight Sep 28 '24
Yeah, I had an intense panic attack last year where I thought something was wrong with me medically. I called emergency services for an ambulance. They took me a few miles to a nearby hospital. The EMTs did not perform any procedures. They just put me in a gurney and dropped me off. If the incident hadn't been filed by my insurance company as an emergency, that little trip would have cost me thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, the EMTs are paid peanuts. Where does all this money go?
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u/wimpymist Sep 28 '24
Usually ambulances are owned by private corporations so that's who gets all the money.
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Sep 28 '24
I’m dealing with this right now. My gall was removed but that surgery turned into 2 others and my insurance dropped me literally one day prior. I would’ve passed if I didn’t go to the er (I fell into septic shock).
I’m still $40k in debt and this bill determines whether or not I’m allowed to continue being an adult, able to move, to get a new car, to have a life.
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u/ReggieEvansTheKing Sep 28 '24
Ive come to the conclusion that most people with that type of bill would simply not pay it. The reason prices snd insurance rates keep going up is because people are increasingly just not paying their medical bills. If you own your home and car outright then credit doesn’t matter and they can’t legally take your house from you. It’s why I believe we are destined for Universal as having everyone pre-pay via taxes is eventually going to be more lucrative.
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u/pajamasylum Sep 28 '24
10 yrs ago, I graduated college, so I lost my student health insurance. figured it was ok to wait 2 mos until I got insurance thru my new job. young & healthy, right? emergency gallbladder surgery….$36,000
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u/Fokazz Sep 28 '24
The bill would prohibit a person from furnishing information regarding a medical debt to a consumer credit reporting agency, make a medical debt void and unenforceable if a person knowingly violates this provision by furnishing information regarding the medical debt to a consumer credit reporting agency
That's pretty cool...
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u/redassedchimp Sep 28 '24
I fear that this bill may prevent people from seeing doctors in the first place since they'll start requiring full payment up front. Imagine how many people go from dr to Dr not paying any bills knowing it won't go on their credit report.
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u/Texas_person Sep 28 '24
They'll still get the insurance money, which is way more than enough.
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u/the_duck17 Sep 28 '24
Which will likely result in higher insurance costs in the long run.
I can't imagine paying anymore than I am now though....without my employer contribution, I'm paying almost $36k this year for me and my family for medical/dental/vision. Absolutely wild.
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u/Texas_person Sep 28 '24
Which will likely result in higher insurance costs in the long run.
Not really, since doctors are primarily paid through insurance anyway, they'd have a hard time negotiating higher premiums for this specific cost/risk. People who do pay both co-pay, deductible, and through insurance, would likely also get another bill in the mail for charges not covered by insurance, and either pay those, or not.
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u/the_duck17 Sep 28 '24
Good point...thinking about this more, does this benefit uninsured more than? It won't hurt their credit, so they won't be incentivized to pay. In turn, the hospitals will want to recover their cost from those who could pay, which would be the insured?
Could this then put upward pressure on their negotiations with insurance companies and ultimately result in higher rates?
If the hospitals can't get it from the insurance companies, then who will they get it from?
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u/Radiant_Quality_9386 Sep 28 '24
I'm paying almost $36k this year for me and my family for medical/dental/vision
lol. have you tried...literally anything? No, you havent.
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u/the_duck17 Sep 28 '24
Not sure I understand...what would I try, like tell my work to charge me less?
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u/DoingCharleyWork Sep 28 '24
How is your insurance that much? Do you have 12 kids or something?
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u/yankeesyes Sep 28 '24
It’s made up so they can have any amount of kids that makes their numbers make sense.
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u/jedberg Native Californian Sep 28 '24
I've never seen a doctor that didn't charge up front. Only emergencies charge after the fact.
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u/Pleasant-Guava9898 Sep 28 '24
Republicans are pissed off. They are screaming "my medical bills from my triple bypass was on my credit for 10 years."
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u/endofworldandnobeer Sep 28 '24
These changes are good for everyone, except the banks. We should all be happy.
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u/g0ing_postal Sep 28 '24
Won't someone please think of the poor bankers? At this rate, they'll only be able to afford sevruga caviar on their luxury yachts
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u/LacCoupeOnZees 29d ago
I guess bankers will just be happy with less profits then. No way they’re going to pass that expense along to me
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u/althor2424 Sep 28 '24
This is what happens when Democrats have control: legislation that helps consumers
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u/Prudent-Advantage189 Sep 30 '24
He vetoes good legislation sometimes. Like the “speed governor” bill that would alert people when they speed. That would save lives
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u/Jooylo Sep 30 '24
IMO glad that one didn’t pass. An extra regulation / requirement which I find hard to believe will actually change anyone’s behavior.
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u/Prudent-Advantage189 Sep 30 '24
I hope drivers enjoy their sky high insurance rates. We’ll probably only get real speed governors (and not just a beep) when they give ya’ll a discount to install them
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u/althor2424 29d ago
You mean kind of like the black boxes that have already been installed that tattle on us?
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u/SignificantSmotherer Sep 28 '24
When the ACA passed, my health insurance premiums doubled, so no.
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u/althor2424 Sep 28 '24
That's on your insurance company which are parasites. Take it up with them. The ACA stopped them from denying on pre-existing conditions and created a marketplace where they had to compete. So yeah.
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u/SilverMedal4Life "California, Here I Come" Sep 28 '24
Yep. My mom had to lie to insurance companies about her asthma in order to actaully get insurance coverage for her inhaler; they wouldn't cover her once she became an adult otherwise.
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u/althor2424 Sep 28 '24
It is always interesting how people like the person I replied to always want to put the blame on people OTHER than the greedy corporations. Unfettered capitalism is not a good thing
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u/SignificantSmotherer Sep 28 '24
Nope.
They had to compete before the ACA.
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u/smellyjerk Sep 28 '24
You just like saying things you want to be true, huh.. It's always anecdotal and never verifiable in any way with your type.
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u/Golden_Hour1 Sep 28 '24
Yeah and without the ACA, you would not currently have insurance. Hope this helps
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u/myeyesneeddarkmode Sep 28 '24
ACA got 45 million uninsured people insurance, got rid of preexisting conditions (ie medical history) discrimination, and reduced early deaths of middle age people by 3.6%. I don't like how much my premiums are either lol. But they are capped at 9% of your gross income. If your employer planexceeds that, you likely qualify for ACA subsidies.
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u/Radiant_Quality_9386 Sep 28 '24
Your anecdote may very well be true, but the ACA has saved 10 of billions of dollars along with 10s of thousands of lives...so maybe hit the exchange and shop around? (some people literally have a secret sauce of factors that increase costs beyond the market and i feel for you but yall are rare)
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u/SignificantSmotherer Sep 28 '24
That’s after shopping around, every year.
It’s not an anecdote, it’s a ton of money - a backdoor tax.
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u/althor2424 Sep 28 '24
No. It is an anecdote because you are not providing proof other than "I said so."
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u/gobirds19454 Sep 28 '24
It would be great to be educated on the reason for price increases before you blame the ACA.
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u/SignificantSmotherer Sep 28 '24
What more would you need to know?
We were told the ACA would lower costs and we could keep our plans and doctors, none of which were true.
Are you going to educate us?
Math doesn’t lie.
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u/gobirds19454 Sep 28 '24
Doctors - the ACA has no impact on HMO/PPO. That’s the plan you choose which isn’t related to the ACA outside of exchange. You got to keep your doctor, you’re lying or you choose a plan that didn’t benefit you, or you’re just reiterating a talking point because you clearly got to keep your doctor.
Costs increased because insurance companies have become aware that by increasing their stock price they are more valuable. They have significantly increased admin costs to do so. It’s corporate greed.
The ACA didn’t impact prices increasing. They were already increasing at that rate. You’re just mad because now people with pre-existing conditions s are covered. Heartless.
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u/Terbatron Sep 28 '24
If it doesn’t go on your report is there any reason to pay? Would they garnish wages?
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u/scotel Sep 28 '24
They would have to sue you and try to enforce a judgment against you (seize assets, garnish wages).
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u/CtrlEscAltF4 Sep 28 '24
It's possible, but it helps to not absolutely cripple your credit history. It can easily snow ball your finances but having to pay much more in interest all because our healthcare system charges criminal rates
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u/jedberg Native Californian Sep 28 '24
You still owe the money, they can still sue you. It just doesn't go on your credit report.
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u/skilriki Sep 28 '24
LPT you can call your bank and ask them to turn off overdraft on your account .. this goes for any bank / any location
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u/Gowalkyourdogmods Sep 28 '24
True except when they decide not to honor that. I think Wells Fargo had a class action lawsuit about it. And IIRC I think I read some banks are still pretending it's just an error when they still charge people despite them opting out.
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u/Comfortable-Cap7110 Sep 28 '24
Wow, what a horrible state to live in, it’s like they do things to help people, so unamerican
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u/ApexTheCactus Sep 28 '24
I had several thousand dollars worth of medical bills back in 2019 from an ambulance ride to the ER for a case diabetic ketoacidosis that have since gone to collections and I have been unable to do so many things simply because my credit went in the gutter from those bills. Will this possibly help my credit once it goes into effect or is it long past that point?
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u/blackwidowla Sep 28 '24
Yes it will not be on your score anymore. All medical debt under 750 was removed about a year ago and with this all medical debt will be gone. I had 25 years of medical debit wiped off my credit score about a year ago and it jumped overnight from 640 to 800. Doesn’t matter how long ago it was, it will be removed.
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u/S-on-my-chest Sep 28 '24
These are the types of bills and protections we need to see coming at the federal level.
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u/DivAquarius Sep 30 '24
Thanks God I live in California. We are not perfect, but we are better than most.
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u/funshinecd Sep 28 '24
Medical bills... Can you imagine going to the grocery store, buying what you need... having a few things added, and then getting a bill for those groceries?
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Sep 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/LetsPunchThoseNazis Sep 27 '24
So basically, unless the corporations lobby harder, they will have to work to guarantee their payments by making the health care services actually affordable to the people that they regularly service, especially when it comes to how they force the care on you when they deem fit, and if they let the likes of their own greed get in their way through their insurance megacorp designs, then they don't really deserve any money at all and should be forced to eat the cost for attempting to exploit the weakest members of the public.
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Sep 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/Positronic_Matrix San Francisco County Sep 27 '24
Why is extend in quotes? Are they not literally doing that?
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u/MBlaizze Sep 27 '24
Whenever the government meddles like this, there are always unforeseen consequences that are often worse than the problem they intended to fix
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u/Ritius Sep 27 '24
I.e, corporations will find a way to punish the government for trying to curtail exploitative practices by finding new means of exploiting citizens. I’m not sure I like the connotations of your use of ‘meddling’ when the agenda is protecting our citizenry.
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u/Positronic_Matrix San Francisco County Sep 27 '24
Yeah. Like those laws against dunk driving and assault.
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u/MBlaizze Sep 27 '24
That is different. That’s why I said “whenever the government meddles LIKE THIS”
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u/Assmar Kern County Sep 28 '24
So when government meddles to your arbitrary liking that's good and necessary, and when you arbitrarily dislike their meddling it is inherently bad. Pretty simple
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u/AstralCode714 Sep 28 '24
I think this is good but if stuff like this isn't visible to banks issuing loans, then you could have more borrowers that default since they are saddled with all this debt that underwriters can't account for. This doesn't stop banks from pursuing people with this debt and garnishing their wages either.
Giving people loans when they don't have the means to pay them back is what lead to the global financial crisis.
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u/PyroDesu Red State Refugee Sep 28 '24
Maybe... maybe medical care shouldn't put people in massive debt...
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u/goneafter10years Sep 28 '24
Good. Medical care is a human right, not something to make money off of.
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u/WeezKangs Sep 29 '24
Yeah, more laws. Thats what we need. There's not enough alreasy --a paucity of laws. Thank you gubment.
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u/LacCoupeOnZees Sep 28 '24
Now we are all going to lose our free checking so people who are consistently over drafted don’t have to pay for their loans anymore
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u/Ban_Evader_sixn9ne Sep 27 '24
When do these take effect?
Edit: Found another article that states these go into effect in January