Health Net must pay $9 million

An arbitration judge issued the award to Patsy Bates, a breast cancer patient whose medical coverage was canceled by the Woodland Hills-based insurer. Health Net supposedly tied employee bonuses to the number of policies canceled and the amount of money saved, a practice that is now the subject of several investigations. Arbitrator Sam Cianchetti, a retired Superior Court judge, called the company's actions "despicable." Health Net has responded by pledging that it would not cancel policyholders "without first seeking approval from a binding external third-party review process." Bully for them. (LAT)