California Primary Care Association, Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County and La Clínica de La Raza Latest to Join Mounting Opposition to Trial Attorney Funded Measure
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California Primary Care Association, Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County and La Clínica de La Raza Latest to Join Mounting Opposition to Trial Attorney Funded Measure
Initiative would raise health care costs, reduce access for Californians
For Immediate Release – March 5, 2020
Contact: Molly Weedn – molly@axiomadvisors.com
Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Primary Care Association, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County and La Clínica de La Raza join 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.”
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.
“La Clínica was founded on a simple mission: that every person deserves access to high-quality, culturally appropriate health care, regardless of their ability to pay,” said La Clínica de La Raza CEO Jane Garcia. “This measure would decimate our ability to continue providing care to some of the Bay Area’s most vulnerable patients.”
“The Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC) represents more than 60 nonprofit clinics across LA County that provide critical care to thousands of low income patients,” said Louise McCarthy, President and CEO of CCALAC. “The so-called Fairness for Injured Patients Act would do nothing to help patients and would force many of our clinics to reduce care or even close their doors altogether.”
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 California Primary Care Association, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County and La Clínica de La Raza 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.
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 The Doctors Company, California Medical Association, and Medical Insurance Exchange of California.