California’s trial attorneys launched an all-out assault on California's historic tort reform law, which since 1975 has helped keep malpractice premiums in-check and ensured that California’s patients have access to affordable health care.

On May 2, 2013, a coalition—including the Consumer Attorneys of California and the trial lawyer-funded Consumer Watchdog group—announced intentions to seek to overturn California's landmark Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) through a ballot initiative. The group has until September to submit a proposed initiative to qualify for the November 2014 general election ballot.

If successful, the trial attorney’s efforts will cause malpractice rates to skyrocket, and recreate the same conditions that threatened to throw California’s health care system into crisis during the early 1970s. Prior to MICRA, out-of-control medical liability costs were forcing community clinics, health centers, physicians and other health care providers out of practice.

California’s MICRA has been a national success story with broad public support and has safeguarded both patients and our health care delivery system for decades. Risky reforms like the ones being threatened by the trial lawyers would severely impede our state’s ability to provide health care to the poorest and most vulnerable patients. At a time when we are trying to implement federal health care reform and provide access to health care to all Californians, this is the worst possible overreach at the worst possible time.

 

"The threat of a ballot measure is nothing more than a money grab by trial lawyers," says CMA President Paul R. Phinney, MD. "And one that that will come at the expense of higher health costs for all patients and decreased access for patients and clinics already struggling to keep their doors open. We cannot and will not let that happen."

Click here for more information on MICRA, and what you can do to help in the fight.

The California Medical Association (CMA), together with other amici, has asked the California Supreme Court to depublish an appellate court opinion that thwarts the long-standing definition of "professional negligence" in California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). The ruling, if allowed to stand as precedent for future cases, could be misused to undermine the goals of MICRA and adversely affect the entirety of the health care system and safety net in California.

In Flores vs. Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, a hospital inpatient sued for injuries she allegedly sustained from a fall when her hospital bed rail collapsed. The appeals court ruled that the negligence did not occur in the rendering of professional services and as such was subject to the two-year statute of limitations for ordinary negligence rather than the one-year statute of limitations for professional negligence.

CMA, California Dental Association, and California Hospital Association filed a joint amicus letter urging the Supreme Court to depublish the Court of Appeal’s opinion on the grounds that the opinion was wrongly decided, having been based on a poor factual record and consideration of less than all the pertinent authority.

CMA’s letter points out that under the long-standing definitions in MICRA, professional negligence includes any act or omission by a health care provider in the rendering of professional services for which the provider is licensed. Despite this clear definition and the fact that the provision and maintenance of safe hospital beds is a service for which hospitals are licensed, the Court of Appeal’s opinion failed to even address the pertinent licensing laws and regulations.

CMA and the other amici urged depublication because this wrongly decided opinion will not provide meaningful guidance in future cases and obscures the definition of what constitutes professional negligence under MICRA.

MICRA, California’s landmark professional liability reforms, have for nearly 40 years fairly compensated injured parties while protecting access to care for Californians.

Click here for more information on MICRA.

In the last days of the 2012 legislative session, a shell bill (SB 1528) was gutted and amended in an attempt by trial lawyers to undermine California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). SFMS/CMA rallied its grassroots advocacy network and was able to thwart this move and the bill is dead for this legislative season.

The bill would have artificially inflated the medical expense damages by valuing them on the basis of the retail price of medical services provided, not the actual expense to the injured party. Simply put, this would allow trial lawyers to value medical expenses based on usual and customary fees that physicians are rarely are paid, not the discounted contract rates they receive. The legislation would have scrapped longstanding principals of law that allows an injured person to recover as economic medical expense damages only amounts actually paid or incurred for medical care and services.

A similar assault was mounted last year in the form of a lawsuit (Howell v. Hamilton Meats) brought before the California Supreme Court. Fortunately, the court ruled that an injured person is not entitled to recover economic damages for past medical expenses based on a provider’s undiscounted bill if that sum that was never paid by or on behalf of the injured person. 

SB 1528 would have artificially inflated economic medical expense damage awards and undermined MICRA's intent to prevent double recovery of these damages. This, in turn, would have increased medical malpractice premiums for physicians, many of whom would be forced to close shop thereby further limiting access to care for all Californians.

Had this bill passed, it would have undermined the state's landmark MICRA law, which was signed by Gov. Brown in 1975 (during his first term as governor) and limits pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases to $250,000.

Call Your Legislator to Oppose SB 1528

The trial attorneys are at it once again, trying to push through last minute legislation that would undermine the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) and increase medical malpractice insurance rates.

They have introduced SB 1528, a bill that would artificially inflating economic medical expense damage awards in managed care cases. This bill would change the way medical expense economic damages are measured, allowing damages to be awarded without regard to the amount actually paid.

This, in turn, would increase medical malpractice premiums for physicians, many of whom would be forced to close shop thereby further limiting access to care for all Californians.

SB 1528 is under consideration on the Assembly Floor on this last day of the legislative session. 

CALL NOW to urge your legislators to VOTE NO on SB 1528. 

Please call (877) 362-8455 to be connected to your legislator. You will be asked to enter your zip code and select your legislators. Give your name, specialty and let them know that you are their constituent.

Make this call today to help preserve MICRA and keep professional liability insurance costs affordable ensure health care access for all.

Talking Points

SB 1528 will:

• Result in vastly inflated economic damage awards for expenses the plaintiff never ha
• Erode the foundation of MICRA by artificially inflating medical expense damage awards
• Line the pockets of trial attorneys at the expense of the medical community
• Further harm California's already limited access to health care

Click here for a 1-page floor alert on SB 1528 produced by CMA's Government Relations.

SFMS/CMA is working to preserve MICRA. Click here for a copy of the letter CMA sent to the Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee Bob Wieckowski opposing SB 1528.

A wonderful time was had by all at the SFMS General Meeting on September 12 at the Golden Gate Yacht Club. With warm enthusiasm, SFMS President George Fouras, MD welcomed 60 residents and physicians—a quarter of which are first-time attendees!—to the annual event. Featured speaker CMA President James Hinsdale, MD delivered an informative presentation about CMA’s legislative efforts to preserve MICRA, prevent further reimbursement cuts from Medicare and Medi-Cal, and maintain the economic viability of physicians.

Event participants appreciated the chance to exchange new knowledge, gain insights into organized medicine, and to foster networking. Members expressed positive feedback and interest in becoming actively involved in future events, including the September 27th Career Fair, October 28th SFMS Night at the Symphony, and future mixers.