Wrong R/x for California

19

As a cardiologist and educator, I care deeply about California families’ ability to access high-quality, affordable health care. I wake up thinking about my patients and am always striving to improve their care. Likewise, I must be alert to anything that threatens their health and well-being.

That’s why I am opposed to Proposition 46 – a ballot measure sponsored, and almost exclusively funded, by lawyers for their own benefit.

California doctors, dentists, hospitals and community clinics have banded together against this measure because it is a deceptive budget buster that would jeopardize patients’ access to care and raise costs for us all.

Not only is Proposition 46 bad medicine and bad for California families, but it’s also bad for business. Just ask the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Small Business Association, the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, all of which oppose Proposition 46.

Doctors and hospitals, business groups and labor, local government and community clinics – we all object to Proposition 46 because it would make it easier and more lucrative for lawyers to sue doctors and hospitals, resulting in billions of dollars in higher health care costs annually. That would make it harder for patients to see their doctors and get the care they need. It would make health care more expensive and further strain state and local budgets recovering from the economic downturn.

Proposition 46 would quadruple the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) cap on noneconomic damages, thus increasing the number of medical lawsuits.

According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, the initiative could increase state and local government costs by several hundred million dollars annually – costs that would be passed on to taxpayers. State and local governments would incur additional costs because they pay health care costs for current and former employees as well as paying for care for many low-income Californians.

Cost increase

Worse, a recent study by former Legislative Analyst Bill Hamm estimated that overall costs for everyday Californians would increase by $9.9 billion annually – or about $1,000 a year for an average family of four.

Proposition 46 would make it harder to attract skilled doctors to the state, especially specialists, and drive physicians to leave to practice in places where malpractice insurance rates are lower. This would be a potential disaster, as there are many areas of California that are underserved by health care providers, even here in Los Angeles County. Additionally, as we strive to provide high-quality care to new patients in our system with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we need more doctors, not fewer.

Proposition 46 is a measure that California patients and taxpayers cannot afford.

Dr. Sion Roy is a board member of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and a California Medical Association trustee. He is a practicing cardiologist in Los Angeles.