Therapist Sarah Soroken hears from patients all the time that the doctors and therapists on their insurance company's list of in-network providers are wildly inaccurate or out of date.

It would be a rare day that we didn't have at least one person calling in stating they've called through entire lists of providers, most of them either not responding, not available, or not even taking the insurance.

These so-called ghost networks are more than a mere inconvenience for someone who's experiencing a mental health crisis.

One patient, in particular, stands out for Soroken.

They called through a list of 50 providers and either the providers weren't calling them back or some of them weren't taking the insurance anymore and this patient, their symptoms worsened to the point where they gave up hope and had a suicide attempt.

That's why she's been testifying in support of Assembly Bill 236.

The measure would give state healthcare regulators the authority to issue fines to insurers if their lists of providers aren't up to date and accurate.

The state's health insurers and lobbyists for physicians have been fighting the bill every step of the way.

This bill is unfortunately unwarranted, overly punitive, and ignores the shared responsibility component between providers and plans in developing these directories.

Insurers say healthcare providers, including doctors and dentists, are responsible for updating the list.

Doctors and dentists, however, blame insurers for the inaccuracies and both groups say the bill isn't needed.

We all share the same goal, but the language in the bill is too far, it is too overreaching Soroken said it's frustrating that the powerful health insurance and healthcare industries are fighting a bill that would make lives easier for patients.

Health insurance companies, health plans, have been mandated to maintain these accurate provider lists and they have not.

Instead of fixing the problem, they've pointed fingers and placed the blame elsewhere.

Reporting for CalMatters, I'm Ryan Sabalow.