• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

ABOUT US RESOURCES TESTIMONIALS BLOG CONTACT US

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Find Your State
  • Find Your Specialty
  • Choose a Facility
  • Resources
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Request A Quote

Proposition 46 Making Waves in California and Nationwide

August 25, 2014

The nation is watching as money begins to pour into campaigns for, and especially against, a ballot initiative called Proposition 46 which is set to be on the November 4th ballot in California. The initiative would do three things:

  1. It would raise the caps on non-economic damages in malpractice cases from $250,000 to $1.1M.
  2. It would require doctors to submit to random drug and alcohol testing.
  3. It would require doctors to consult a state administered prescription drug database before prescribing certain drugs to first time patients.

If that sounds like three initiatives to you, you’re not alone. Much of the opposition to the initiative has been focused on the fact that it is so broad that it’s not really a single unified proposition at all. But this isn’t a mistake. The groups responsible for creating the initiative, trial lawyers and consumer watchdog organizations, set out first and foremost to raise caps on non-economic damages. But to sweeten the deal and create a proposition more likely to win the popular vote, after consulting several focus groups, they added on the drug and alcohol testing and drug database provisions. These were the stand out issues that proved popular in research and the ones that they felt they could sell the Prop 46 on.

Opponents, of whom there are many, have seen this as an unscrupulous strategy. Dr. Richard Thorp, president of the California Medical Association, described it as a “money grab by trial lawyers.” Further, noting that the trial lawyers have shown no willingness to consider a drug and alcohol testing measure on its own merits and independent of the question of damage caps, many have concluded that the initiative isn’t really about patient safety at all but about the coffers that would open up for trial lawyers if the non-economic damage caps raised by more than 500% overnight. Proponents of the measure respond by pointing out that what they are suggesting is merely indexing the cap to inflation over the last 39 years since it was put in place in 1975. Nevertheless, a 500%+ increase is a drastic increase, and it would almost certainly have a destabilizing effect on the malpractice market at least in the short term.

Financial support for the proposition comes almost entirely from trial lawyers, while grassroots and organizational support also comes from consumer advocacy groups, victims of malpractice, and volunteers. The supporters do not have the budget to campaign for the proposition that opponents do given that major monetary support comes from only one source. However, the resources they do have, which are not insubstantial, they’ve begun spending on videos like the one below, press releases accusing insurance companies of obscene profits, and a steady trickle of stories released about cases where an impaired doctor harmed a patient.

Opposition to the initiative has ratcheted up substantially in the last few weeks with television and radio ads hitting the airwaves in addition to the longer videos like the one below and other media campaigns. While it is true that much of the opposition side’s funding comes from malpractice insurance companies, a fact that stands to reason since they are the ones who would lose money if damage caps are increased, there is actually a rather broad coalition of opposition to Prop 46. Some oppose it because of the way it forces three separate policy issues together, some on privacy or civil rights grounds, some out of fear of the administrative cost of implementing new programs that they see as over-broad or insufficiently defined, and some because they fear rising malpractice insurance costs, which would then trickle down to patients and mean more expensive healthcare for everyone.

Groups that oppose the proposition include malpractice insurers, hospitals, the ACLU, unions, the California Chamber of Commerce, and state medical and dental associations. Bringing unions, big corporations, and the ACLU together on an issue is quite a feat. But, adding insult to injury for proponents of the measure, in mid-July the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party voted to remain neutral on Proposition 46. This effectively means that the trial lawyers will receive no political or financial support from those they supposed might be their political allies.

All that said, who knows what will happen in the polls? Will the public understand the measure? Will they be put off by being asked to cast a single vote for three distinct policy imperatives? Gale Kaufman, a senior strategist for the opposition believes so. She recently said, “In my experience, they’ve woefully underestimated the intelligence of California voters. They know deceptive window-dressing when they see it. Our research shows that, when voters see three issues, they don’t understand what they’re all doing in one measure but they do intuitively understand it’s going to cost them lots of money. Personally, I think they’ve outsmarted themselves on this one.”

Others, noting how easy it is to make the argument for why doctors should have to “pee in a cup” when bus drivers, athletes, and even many corporate employees already do, think the ballot will likely sail through and that opposing it will be a bit like walking through a minefield if the opponents are going to avoid the appearance of simply trying to avoid accountability.

One thing is for sure though: the whole country will be watching. Proposition 46 is expected to overshadow all other issues on the ballot, especially given California Governor Jerry Brown’s expected easy re-election. If it passes California will be setting a major precedent as the first state to require random drug and alcohol tests of all doctors. Further, raising caps on non-economic damages and tying the hike to inflation after nearly 40 years with a static cap, even as other states are overturning caps altogether, would be an interesting new wrinkle in the ever-evolving tort reform situation in this country. Regardless of what happens we’ll likely revisit the question shortly before or after the election to asses and evaluate what impact the vote will have.

Here is a video put out by opponents of the proposition.


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: California, damage caps, judicial, legal, legislation, non-economic damages, pain and suffering, proposition, tort reform, vote

Primary Sidebar

Calendar

August 2014
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul   Sep »

Categories

  • Ask eQuoteMD
  • General
  • Malpractice Insurance
  • Malpractice Insurance Coverage
  • Medical Liability Insurance
  • Medical Malpractice
  • medical malpractice insurance
  • medical malpractice lawsuit
  • OB/GYN
  • tail coverage
  • Telehealth
  • Uncategorized

Tags

Affordable Medical Malpractice Insurance best malpractice insurance California claims made coverage damage caps defensive medicine doctors liability insurance group medical malpractice insurance hipaa individual medical malpractice insurance judicial legal legislation liability malpractice malpractice insurance Malpractice Insurance Coverage malpractice insurance for doctors Malpractice Insurance near me malpractice insurance quote medical liability insurance medical malpractice medical malpractice coverage medical malpractice insurance medical malpractice insurance broker medical malpractice insurance companies medical malpractice insurance company Medical Malpractice Insurance for Family Medicine Medical Malpractice Insurance provider medical malpractice insurance providers medical malpractice lawsuit medical professional liability insurance news non-economic damages occurrence physician malpractice insurance policy professional medical liability insurance research study tail tail coverage technology tort reform

Footer

eQuoteMD

BLOG

Doctor And Nurse Suture Patient In Emergency Room

As a physician, you are no doubt aware of the importance of having malpractice insurance to protect READ MORE

Pregnant woman lying down on a hospital bed and talking to a doctor

“Medical Malpractice Insurance policies have become a commodity in the insurance industry, meaning READ MORE

Dental Malpractice form, and gavel on a surface.

Dental malpractice insurance is an essential element of any dentist's practice. It covers them in READ MORE

FIND YOUR STATE FIND YOUR SPECIALTY CHOOSE A FACILITY

ABOUT US RESOURCES TESTIMONIALS BLOG CONTACT US

HOME ADA DISCLAIMER PRIVACY POLICY SITEMAP

Copyright © 2023 · eQuoteMD · All Rights Reserved

iHealthspot Medical Website Design and Medical Marketing by iHealthSpot.com

eQuoteMD provides medical malpractice insurance services in all states for all specialties.