News in brief - Sept. 19, 2011

Patient data lands on public website

The personal information of more than 20,000 emergency department patients at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., found its way onto a public website where it remained for nearly a year until it was discovered in August.

The hospital said a spreadsheet containing names, diagnosis codes, hospital account numbers and admissions and discharge data that was being used by a subcontractor working for one of its vendors made its way onto a public website called Student of Fortune. The website allows students to solicit paid assistance with their school work. The hospital, and the vendor, are investigating how the information landed there.

No Social Security numbers, credit card information or birthdates were included, but the hospital is offering identity theft protection to the affected patients, all of whom were seen at the hospital's ED between March 1 and Aug. 31, 2009. The hospital said the incident was caused by no fault of its own and that the subcontractor has assumed responsibility.

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California rate approval bill tabled

California state legislators have tabled legislation that would have made it more difficult for health insurers to raise rates.

Assembly Bill 52, which would have granted the state's insurance commissioner the authority to reject proposed health insurance premium increases, passed the Assembly but was "moved to inactive file" Sept. 1 at the request of its Senate co-sponsor after it became clear the bill didn't have the votes to pass in the Senate.

Bills granting the commissioner prior approval authority have come up in California at least twice before. One bill passed in 2010 but was vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Twenty-two states' insurance regulators have the authority to deny rate increases in the individual and group health insurance markets. Twelve other states' insurance regulators have more limited rate regulation power. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the federal government also now has the authority to intervene in cases of "unreasonable" rate hikes, defined as any that average 10% or more.

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