CSA is a long-time member of Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP), the statewide coalition to protect access to health care through the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
MICRA ensures that injured patients receive compensation while preserving access to health care by keeping providers in practice and hospitals and clinics open. Without MICRA’s protections, many of California’s neediest populations could face reduced access to these much-needed services. MICRA also ensures that medical malpractice premiums are manageable and, without this law, the cost to practice medicine in California would skyrocket.
An initiative called the “Fairness for Injured Patients Act” (FIPA) will be on the ballot this November and, if passed, will effectively eliminate MICRA’s protections. Funded by a wealthy out-of-state trial lawyer, this proposition is an end-run around MICRA.
This flawed initiative would:
- Eliminate the cap on both non-economic damages and attorneys’ fees. The initiative creates a new category of injuries which is not currently recognized under California law. This new “catastrophic injury” category allows for unlimited attorneys’ fees and unlimited non-economic damages.
- Reward lawyers before patients. Current law allows for patients to be paid for future damages over time as their treatment and recovery continues. This measure requires all damages to be paid in a large lump sum and increases the risk that patients could run out of money before their recovery is complete. These lump sum payments allow trial attorneys to collect more in fees.
- Result in more, not less frivolous lawsuits. Unlike other judicial transparency laws in California, this measure would expressly prohibit judges from independently verifying the truthfulness of statements made by trial attorneys in certain court filings known as “certificates of merit” and from disciplining them for dishonesty.
According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, this flawed initiative will drive up health care costs for all Californians by tens of millions “to high hundreds of millions of dollars annually.” This initiative would obliterate existing safeguards for medical lawsuits — resulting in skyrocketing health care costs and huge windfalls for attorneys.
This is not the first attempt to alter MICRA, but it is the most damaging. Now, CSA and hundreds of other organizations are part of a growing coalition to defeat FIPA this November.
Moving forward, this coalition will work together to educate millions of Californians about the disastrous impact this initiative would have on our health care system. We know that once Californians understand the issue and how beneficial MICRA is to our state, they will vote no on FIPA.
The future of MICRA is on the line. We know that through our collective efforts, CSA, CAPP, and hundreds of other health care organizations can defeat this dangerous measure and ensure continued access to care for millions of Californians.
The CSA Board of Directors has identified defeating FIPA as a top strategic priority. CSA’s political action committee, GASPAC, is making a significant financial contribution to the ‘No’ campaign. CSA will also be encouraging financial contributions and cultivating grassroots involvement from CSA members to support the ‘No’ campaign. We will be providing information via email and social media to help CSA members inform their colleagues, patients, friends and neighbors, about the harmful impacts of this measure, and encouraging their support for the ‘No’ campaign.
Please stay tuned for future updates by CSA on FIPA. In the meantime, you can visit protectmicra.org to find more information about the campaign and learn how you and your hospital/clinic and colleagues can help defeat this measure.