Covered California’s announced 13% rate hike for health insurance rates in 2017 is going to hit consumers hard.  It’s a double whammy since California policyholders have suffered from some of the narrowest networks of doctors and hospitals in the country, allegedly as the price paid for modest premium hikes the last couple of years. Now Californians have fewer choices of doctors – less than 25% of an area’s docs in most plans – and higher premiums: the worst of all worlds.

Last week, the California Department of Managed Health Care approved the merger of Aetna and Humana. The move seemed unlikely after a hearing at which DMHC Director Shelley Rouillard expressed skepticism about how the deal could benefit consumers, noting especially Aetna’s history of serial unreasonable rate hikes ($39 million in excessive rates in just 8 months).

Would you want to know if your doctor was in addiction treatment and failed a drug test? Shouldn't he have to tell the hospital he works at? What about the state Medical Board responsible for disciplining physicians who place patients at risk?