(a)  If a health care service plan uses arbitration to settle disputes with enrollees or subscribers, it shall require that an arbitration award be accompanied by a written decision to the parties that indicates the prevailing party, the amount of any award and other relevant terms of the award, and the reasons for the award rendered.

(b)  A copy of any modified written decision, including the amount of the award and other relevant terms of the award, the reasons for the award rendered, the name of the arbitrator or arbitrators, but excluding the names of the enrollee, the plan, witnesses, attorneys, providers, health plan employees, and health facilities, shall be provided to the department on a quarterly basis. The department shall make these modified decisions available to the public upon request.

(c)  Subdivision (b) shall not preclude the department from requesting and securing from any plan copies of complete arbitration decisions issued pursuant to subdivision (a) for the purposes of administering this chapter.

(d)  If the department receives a request for information about an arbitration decision obtained by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c), the department shall not release information identifying a person or entity whose name has been or should have been removed from the arbitration decision pursuant to subdivision (b).

(e)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the department, or any plan or person, from disclosing information contained in an arbitration decision if the disclosure is otherwise permitted by law.

(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 838, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1999.)