What is MICRA and why should I care?

If you're an anesthesiologist, anesthesia resident, or anesthesia fellow who currently works in California, you need to know what MICRA is, and why it's under threat. 

MICRA stands for the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, a statute which was signed into law in 1975. One of the main stipulations of this law is that, in cases of medical malpractice in which the healthcare provider is found to be at fault, rewards for non-economic damages are limited to $250,000. By contrast, rewards for economic damages do not have a limit. Unsurprisingly, MICRA has been a consistent target for trial attorneys, because they stand to benefit from any increase in the allowed rewards for non-economic damages. 

In 2014, a ballot measure called Proposition 46 would have overturned MICRA but was soundly defeated. But now it's 2022, and another group of trial attorneys is taking another swing at MICRA. The movement to overturn MICRA is being led by a lawyer who doesn't even live in California. He and a few other trial attorneys succeeded in gathering the required number of signatures to get the initiative on the ballot in November 2022. 

The measure, which is awkwardly titled "California Changes to Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Cap Initiative", will be presented to voters on November 8, 2022. Needless to say, you need to VOTE NO on this ballot initiative. Overturning MICRA mainly benefits trial lawyers and does nothing to increase quality of patient care. 

A yes vote on this measure means you want to: 1) increase medical malpractice insurance premiums, 2) make California a less attractive place for doctors, and 3) decrease patient access to quality care. If you want to read all the deets, here's a great non-partisan site that lays it all out: 

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Changes_to_Medical_Malpractice_Lawsuits_Cap_Initiative_%282022%29

A lot more to come on this...stay tuned.