LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Blue Shield of California faces a lawsuit ordering the insurer to stop the practice of canceling insurance policies when individuals get sick.
The suit was filed in a Los Angeles court by a college student who said the insurer dropped him from an insurance plan after he was hospitalized for gastroenteritis, the Los Angeles Times reports.
If the suit is successful, it would require the insurer to end the practice, which some critics say is widespread.
Blue Shield said it does not drop beneficiaries unless they failed to disclose pertinent health information when enrolling in an individual plan.
However, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is currently investigating the practice, said he is concerned that beneficiaries have seen their policies cancelled because of minute or inadvertent omissions, according to the newspaper.
