Protect Access and Control Health Care Costs for CA Patients; Oppose the So-Called “Fairness for Injured Patients Act” February 8, 2020 California Medical Association, CMA, Fairness for Injured Patients Act, Legislation 1151 Late last year, wealthy out-of-state trial attorneys filed an initiative for the November 2020 ballot that would substantially raise health care costs for all Californians, reduce access and exploit patients for profit. While most reporting to date has focused on the proposed changes to California’s existing law—the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA)—this misguided initiative would effectively eliminate California's medical lawsuit limits to create new financial windfalls for California's trial lawyers. Proponents of this measure must collect 623,212 valid signatures, which must be verified no later than June 25, 2020. Recent reports show that they’re on track to meet those numbers and qualify for the November ballot, which is why we need your commitment to oppose this dangerous initiative now more than ever. In 2014, our coalition fought and handily defeated Proposition 46, clearly saying NO to changes in MICRA that would have quadrupled the cap on non-economic damages. This measure goes far beyond what Proposition 46 would have done and the cost to taxpayers would be substantially greater. As recently noted by the independent Legislative Analyst Office, the "Fairness for Injured Patients Act" will cost California taxpayers tens of millions "to high hundreds of millions of dollars annually" in health care costs. Proposition 46 taught us the power of a strong coalition, and this time around it will be even more important. To learn more about the new initiative, and to donate to the “no” campaign, please visit protectmicra.org.