MICRA Signatures Submitted, Physicians Must Rally to Oppose Trial Lawyers on All Fronts
On Monday, March 24, Consumer Watchdog, a front group for the Consumer Attorneys of California, submitted roughly 830,000 signatures to qualify a measure for the November ballot that would scrap key provisions California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
This deceptive measure will raise healthcare costs for all Californians by lifting MICRA’s cap on non-economic damages, thus increasing lawsuits against healthcare providers and decreasing access to care for patients across the state. California’s physician community must join together and oppose this dangerous measure.
This same trial lawyer group is also sponsoring candidates across the state in their bids for the state legislature. The California's Political Action Committee (CALPAC) is working to defeat these candidates who would vote to change MICRA in the legislature.
We need your support to continue to win at the ballot box and in the legislature.
Please join your physician colleagues around California by contributing $150, $300, $500 or more to CALPAC by clicking here today!
Your contribution to CALPAC today will go directly to protecting MICRA and ensuring that all Californians have access to quality and affordable health care.
MICRA has served as a model for the nation by containing health costs and protecting access to care. Now the state’s trial lawyers and their allies are funding deceptive campaigns to mislead voters into decimating a law that would severely restrict access to care.
Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, recently admitted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that aspects of the ballot initiative — specifically those pertaining to physician drug testing — were added simply because they polled well and serve as the “ultimate sweetener.”
We must reach every voter in California and educate them on the dangers of losing our MICRA protections. We cannot do this without your support. Please contribute $150, $300, $500, or more to CALPAC today!
If we are not successful in defending MICRA, not only will the cost of healthcare increase for all Californians, but access to care for some of California’s most at risk populations will be reduced. To make matters worse, the ballot measure is being floated under guise of “consumer protection” when in reality it is all about the bottom line for the state’s trial lawyers.
Again, I implore you to donate $150, $300, $500 or more to CALPAC — the state’s largest physician-run political action committee — so it can continue its aggressive efforts on behalf of California physicians.
Defeating the attacks on MICRA will be no small task, but together, I am confident we will be successful.
Sincerely,
Richard Thorp, MD
President, California Medical Association