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WSJ Opinion: California’s MICRA Should Be Protected

This week, the Wall Street Journal editors looked at California’s MPL award cap. The opinion piece stated that MICRA is “… the gold standard in medical malpractice reform, (and) has inspired legislation in more than a dozen states, most notably Texas.” According to the editors, attorneys unsuccessfully sued to overturn California’s cap in 1985 and have been trying to persuade the legislature to lift the limit for decades. However, they have faced pushback from other Democratic interest groups including trade unions and low-income community health clinics.

Lawyers complain the 1975 cap didn’t include an inflation indexer. However, the writers explain, “the average payout has since risen more than 2.5 times the rate of inflation due to soaring health costs, which factor into economic damages. Attorneys stand to win an additional $127,500 on average per judgment if the initiative passes.” The Berkeley Research Group estimated that raising the cap on damages to $1 million would increase MPL premiums by between 16% and 38%, based on the experience of other states that have imposed or eliminated limits. In addition, California’s annual health costs would rise by $9.9 billion, or $1,000 for a family of four.

Read more: The Wall Street Journal, 4/16

Read OMIC article on CAPP: Join the CAPP (Californians Allied for Patient Protection) Fight >> MICRA Critical to Protecting Ophthalmic Practice Across the United States