Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/756468
97 Q4 2016 / CINEMONTAGE LABOR MAT TERS private sector non-union men of all education levels would have earned 5 percent ($52) higher weekly wages in 2013 if private sector union density stayed at its 1979 level, an increase of $2,704 in annual paychecks for full-time employees. This decline in union membership has reduced wages for non-union workers at every level of education and experience, costing billions in lost wages. For the 40.2 million full-time non-union private sector men and 32.9 million full-time non-union private sector women, there is a cumulative $133 billion loss in annual wages because of weakened unions. CA OUTLAWS 'SURPRISE' MEDICAL BILLS Legislation that would offer Californians protection against "surprise" medical bills has cleared both state houses, writes Stephanie O'Neill for public radio station KPCC. It was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown September 23, and goes into effect in July 2017, according to Victoria Colliver in The San Francisco Chronicle. "Surprise" medical bills happen when patients seek care from a facility inside their health- insurance network but then unwittingly receive services from an out-of-network provider, such as an anesthesiologist, who is not covered by their insurance. AB 72, authored by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and six assembly colleagues, would protect consumers who end up with these charges from getting stuck with the higher out-of-network bill. Under the legislation, the consumer would pay what an in-network provider would charge. The consumer's insurer would have to reimburse the out-of-network provider at either 125 percent of what Medicare would pay for the same service, or the insurer's average contracted rate for the service, whichever is greater, adds O'Neill. The California Labor Federation and Health Access California co-sponsored AB 72. It was endorsed by IATSE. Opposing the measure were the American College of Surgeons, the California Orthopaedic Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. A 2015 Consumers Union survey found that nearly 25 percent of privately insured Californians who had surgery were charged an out-of-network rate when they believed the provider was in- network. f