Any health care service plan that includes a term that requires the parties to submit to binding arbitration shall, for those cases or disputes for which the total amount of damages claimed is two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) or less, provide for selection by the parties of a single neutral arbitrator who shall have no jurisdiction to award more than two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000). This provision shall not be subject to waiver, except that nothing in this section shall prevent the parties to an arbitration from agreeing in writing, after a case or dispute has arisen and a request for arbitration has been submitted, to use a tripartite arbitration panel that includes two party-appointed arbitrators or a panel of three neutral arbitrators, or another multiple arbitrator system mutually agreeable to the parties. The agreement shall clearly indicate, in boldface type, that “A case or dispute subject to binding arbitration has arisen between the parties and we mutually agree to waive the requirement that cases or disputes for which the total amount of damages claimed is two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) or less be adjudicated by a single neutral arbitrator.” If the parties agree to waive the requirement to use a single neutral arbitrator, the enrollee or subscriber shall have three business days to rescind the agreement. If the agreement is also signed by counsel of the enrollee or subscriber, the agreement shall be immediately binding and may not be rescinded. If the parties are unable to agree on the selection of a neutral arbitrator, and the plan does not use a professional dispute resolution organization independent of the plan that has a procedure for a rapid selection or default appointment of a neutral arbitrator, the method provided in Section 1281.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure may be utilized.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1093, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)