The emergency room practices of a major California hospital chain have prompted new legislation to reduce what critics describe as a pattern of “capturing” insured patients in order to boost bills.

Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, chairman of the state Senate Health Committee, is carrying the bill limiting how much hospitals are paid after they admit a certain rate of out-of-network, privately insured patients. Because current state law is so vague, hospitals can charge insurers top dollar for treating patients from outside their medical networks. (Jewett, California Watch 4/23/12)