No on Prop. 46 Launches First TV and Radio Ads Dear Prop 46 Opponent: Exciting news! Today the No on Prop. 46 campaign launched its first TV and radio ads in both English and in Spanish. They will run statewide. You can watch the TV ad here. You can read our press release about the ad launch here. The ads, "Risk" (TV :30) and "Real Story" (Radio :60), focus on the most obvious of the many reasons to vote NO on November 4: Prop. 46 is written and nearly exclusively funded by trial lawyers for their financial benefit while everyone else in California ... August 19, 2014 MICRA MICRA, Prop. 46 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Lawsuit Measure Assigned Proposition Number. Will Appear on November Ballot MICRA Lawsuit Measure Assigned Proposition Number. Will Appear on November Ballot The California trial lawyers’ MICRA lawsuit initiative will appear on the November 2014 general election ballot as Proposition 46. The true intent of this measure is to eliminate the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), increasing the overall number of medical lawsuits. I am asking you to join thousands of your colleagues across the state in contributing to the protection of MICRA today! If passed, the initiative will raise the healthcare costs of California’s state and local governments by “hundreds of ... July 11, 2014 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Lawsuit Measure Qualifies for November Ballot MICRA Lawsuit Measure Qualifies for November Ballot — Stand and Fight Today! On Thursday, May 15, 2014, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters verified the signatures submitted on behalf of trial lawyers and their front group, Consumer Watchdog, hoping to increase attorney fees at the expense of taxpayers, patients and community clinics across the state. This places the measure well over the threshold required to be placed on the November ballot. For California physicians, this fight cannot be avoided. If passed, this deceptive and hastily thrown together measure will drive up ... May 16, 2014 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
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 ... March 25, 2014 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Update: The Time for Saber Rattling Is Over Donate Today to Help Defend MICRA For months, California physicians have known that defending the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) would be a battle, and that the back and forth rhetoric between healthcare providers and lawyers would eventually lead to the first shots of the coming ballot war being fired. It appears that time has come. From Redding to San Diego, canvassers working to support the trial lawyers’ anti-MICRA ballot language have hit the streets, and have reportedly been gathering signatures at an alarming rate. As expected, the signature gatherers ... November 26, 2013 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
The Campaign to Lift the MICRA Cap Is Underway To: Patients & Providers to Protect Access and Contain Health Costs From: Jim DeBoo, Campaign Manager RE: The Campaign to Lift the MICRA Cap is Underway November 4, 2013 The campaign to lift the MICRA cap is underway. Last week, the Consumer Attorneys of California kicked in hundreds of thousands of dollars to bankroll the initiative. In turn, expect to see signature gatherers at your local grocery stores. From the early stages of this campaign, we've witnessed the Consumer Attorneys intent to mislead the voters. They already have attempted to make this initiative about ... November 5, 2013 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Update: Trial Attorneys Launch Personal Attack on CMA President When trial attorneys announced earlier this year that they were working to scrap California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), we warned that their campaign would be riddled with lies, misdirection, and below-the-belt shots designed to fool the public into thinking their efforts were anything more than an outright money grab. Unfortunately, we didn’t know how right we would be. Last week, Consumer Watchdog published a piece featuring the names of hundreds of California physicians who they claim are afraid to “pee in a cup,” while also personally targeting CMA president, ... October 2, 2013 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Update: Victory in the Capitol, but the Fight Goes On California’s legislative session officially wrapped up last week, and because of aggressive advocacy by the California Medical Association (CMA) and action taken by thousands of California physicians, a bill to scuttle the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) was never introduced. Despite weeks of pandering to members of the Legislature, California’s trial lawyers, along with their front group Consumer Watchdog, were unable to find enough legislators to vote for their greedy and misguided effort at lifting MICRA’s historic protections for their own financial gain. A majority of the Legislature ... September 18, 2013 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Legislative Update as of September 6 By the California Medical Association (CMA) Scope Bills: SB 491 — Nurse Practitioners: CMA had a great victory with the desired outcome of having SB 491 held on suspense. Essentially, the bill failed in committee and is done for the year. Unlike the Senate, the Assembly Appropriations Committee estimated significant costs associated with SB 491. We expect that the author will re-introduce a scope bill next year. We are also being very vigilant about ensuring that there is no attempt to do a “gut and amend” at the end ... September 12, 2013 Legislation, MICRA, Prescription Drug Abuse, Scope of Practice MICRA, Scope of Practice 0 0 Comment Read More »
Fight to Protect MICRA! TABLE OF CONTENTS: MICRA Timeline: Where Are We Today? MICRA Timeline: How Did We Get Here? Initiative Timeline MICRA's Key Provisions SDCMS-CMA Legislative and Judicial Wins Over the Past 10 Years The Trial Lawyers' Ballot Initiative: "Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act of 2014" Know the Arguments for and Against MICRA in the News MICRA Savings Posters for Your Office and ... July 30, 2013 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »