Opposition Mounts to Trial Attorney Funded Measure as Community Clinics Endorse No Campaign February 19, 2020 MICRA, Politics and Medicine MICRA 0 For Immediate Release: February 18, 2020 Contact: Molly Weedn, molly@axiomadvisors.com Sacramento, CA – Today, the Central Valley Health Network, Share Our Selves, Shasta Community Health Center, Family HealthCare Network, Harbor Community Clinic and Livingston Community Health joined the Californians to Protect Patients and Contain Health Care Costs, a mounting coalition of physicians, dentists, nurses, hospitals and safety net clinics in opposition to the so called “Fairness for Injured Patients Act.” Today’s endorsing organizations represent more than 80 clinics across the state. The measure, funded primarily by a wealthy out-of-state trial attorney, is currently in circulation to qualify for the November 2020 ballot. The initiative would effectively eliminate California’s medical lawsuit limits by creating a new and broadly defined category of malpractice lawsuits, which would result in financial windfalls for California’s trial attorneys. “The Central Valley Health Network represents more than a dozen community clinics that serve high need patients across the Central Valley,” said Jason Vega, Central Valley Health Network CEO. “A measure like this would severely reduce the access to care our clinics could provide and result in skyrocketing costs, which is why the Central Valley Health Network urges Californians to join us in opposition.” “We have the honor of serving nearly 300,000 patients in our service areas and pride ourselves on working to provide quality health care to everyone in those communities. This dangerous measure would negatively impact that work,” said Kerry Hydash, Family HealthCare Network President & CEO. In 2014, voters overwhelmingly voted No on Proposition 46, which would have made substantial changes in the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). This measure goes well beyond what Prop. 46 would have done and the cost to California taxpayers would be far greater, as noted by the independent Legislative Analyst Office (LAO). “This measure would likely have a wide variety of fiscal effects on state and local governments,” the LAO said, adding that, “Annual government costs likely ranging from the low tens of millions of dollars to the high hundreds of millions of dollars.” The Central Valley Health Network, Share Our Selves, Shasta Community Health Center, Family HealthCare Network, Harbor Community Clinic and Livingston Community Health are the latest to join dozens of early opposers to this dangerous measure. For more information about Californians to Protect Patients and Contain Health Care Costs, please visit protectmicra.org. Ad paid for by Californians to Protect Patients and Contain Health Care Costs, A Coalition Of Physicians, Dentists And Health Care Providers. Committee major funding from: California Medical Association The Doctors Company Medical Insurance Exchange of California Funding details at: www.fppc.ca.gov. Comments are closed.
