California considering laws modifying individual health insurance policies

Seeking to salvage two years of efforts to completely remake the state's health insurance system, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators are nearing deals intended to rein in costly, meager medical insurance policies sold directly to individuals. They are negotiating measures that would limit insurer profits on individual plans, require plans to provide a minimum set of benefits, and restrict insurers' ability to cancel policies retroactively. The new focus reflects how far Schwarzenegger remains from his original goal to orchestrate medical insurance for the 5 million Californians who lack it. The state Senate rejected that $14.9-billion plan in January.