Department of Managed Health Care
The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) is a regulatory body governing managed health care in California. The current director, Brent Barnhart, was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown on August 11, 2011. The DMHC forms part of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. It was established through the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975,[1] and maintains responsibility for enforcing this, and other related laws and regulations.
The Knox-Keene Health Act actually does not place all of managed health care in California under the DMHC. For example, Anthem Blue Cross (a for profit organization whose parent is WellPoint, Inc. in Indiana) has some health care products under the DMHC, some under the Department of Insurance (DOI), and some sold under "self insurance" systems (like school districts); in the latter two cases the DMHC has no jurisdiction. Particular problems can occur, for example, when teachers find that their benefits are denied and there is really no oversight protection. It is thus not clear that separating the DMHC from the Department of Insurance actually empowered patients.
[edit] References
- ^ "Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975". DMHC. February 2008. http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/regulations/kka2008/!SSL!/Webhelp/2008_KKA_(Public).htm. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
[edit] External links
- "Department of Managed Health Care". http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
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