Canceled policies reviewed

Just a day after L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo announced a civil enforcement action against Anthem Blue Cross for canceling policies and mishandling processing claims, state health officials went one better. They will reopen every policy dropped over the last four years by the five major insurers. An independent arbiter would take it from there. It means that thousands of people will have a chance to win back their coverage and get outstanding medical bills paid. "We are putting our full regulatory and enforcement action to work on this," said Cindy Ehnes, the director of the Department of Managed Health Care. "We are opening the door to health coverage for those thousands of Californians who have been impacted over the last four years." The state insurers have defended the cancellations as rare and necessary to root out fraud. (LAT)