Assemblyman Hagman to Co-Author Bill to Help Californians Keep Existing Health Plans

Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, plans to co-author a bill that would allow Californians losing their health care plans with the launch of the Affordable Care Act to keep their existing coverage for a year.

Hagman, whose district includes Diamond Bar and Walnut, announced plans for the proposed legislation Thursday. He is working with fellow Assembly Republicans on the bill.

“Californians were repeatedly promised ‘If you like your plan, you can keep it.’ We now know that is simply not true,” Hagman said in a statement. “Democrats promised something they could not deliver, and now our citizens are paying the price. My Republican colleagues in the Assembly and I are stepping in to ensure that Californians can keep their insurance plans for at least another year.”  

Hagman's announcement comes on the same day that the five-member board of the California health exchange voted against any extension, reported the Los Angeles Times.

The board's decision against delaying the extension goes against President Barack Obama's recent proposal that policy holders keep their existing plans for a year. Obama made the concession in response to some public outcry over health insurance companies cancelling existing healthcare plans.
 
The Assemblyman Republican Caucus has asked Gov. Jerry Brown to convene a special legislative session to consider the bill, which lawmakers are drafting.

The proposed legislation would allow health insurance policies legal to sell or buy in California before the effective dates in the Affordable Care Act to to remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2014.