Labor unions announce opposition to MICRA lawsuit initiative April 16, 2014 General MICRA 0 This week, two major labor unions announced their strong opposition to the trial attorneys' anti-MICRA ballot initiative. The unions – AFSCME California PEOPLE, the statewide political and legislative arm of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, representing 179,000 members across California, and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), AFSCME Local 206, the largest union representing working doctors in the nation – announced their opposition in a press release. Both groups said it was clear that the initiative served the interests of lawyers, not consumers. “Labor traditionally stands on the side of consumer protection,” said Stuart Bussey, M.D., UAPD president. “However, the protections in this measure are weighted toward trial attorneys, not consumers. The initiative will hurt California's most vulnerable people – low income families and children – by making it harder for them to find health care providers close to where they live.” Dr. Bussey noted that the measure would limit access to medical care in low-income and rural communities by driving up malpractice insurance premiums, therefore making it economically prohibitive for doctors to work. According to California’s independent Legislative Analyst, the proposed measure could increase state and local government health costs by “hundreds of millions of dollars annually.” A study by Bill Hamm, the former Legislative Analyst, concluded the measure could increase health care costs across all sectors by $9.9 billion per year – or roughly $1,000 for an average family of four. AFSCME California PEOPLE and UAPD joins the growing list of California public entities and private organizations who have announced their formal opposition and expressed concerns about its impact on costs, patient access and California’s overall health delivery system, including: California Medical Association California Dental Association California Hospital Association California Pharmacists Association American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American College of Emergency Physicians, California Chapter California Association of Physician Groups California Association for Nurse Practitioners Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California La Clínica de La Raza California Association of Rural Health Clinics Central Valley Health Network California Chamber of Commerce California Black Chamber of Commerce California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce City of Long Beach American Civil Liberties Union, Northern California American Civil Liberties Union, San Diego and Imperial Counties To learn much more about the hidden costs, consequences and flaws in the trial-lawyer-supported MICRA lawsuit initiative, and how you can help in the fight, visit www.cmanet.org/micra. Comments are closed.
