We doctors of Medicine, Osteopathy, take the Hippocratic Oath as a divine pledge to God and to humanity that we will always seek to relieve our fellow mankind of pain and suffering associated with illness.

We wholeheartedly believe in and participate Quality improvement measures to reduce medical error.  We believe in and support the current MICRA law that provides fair and generous Unlimited Payment for economic and punitive damages suffered by a patient/family victim of medical malpractice event.

For the last 26 yrs California State Legislators have protected MICRA (Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act) which protects patients and their families by providing the following:

• Unlimited Payment for:Economic damages for any, all past and future medical costs
• Unlimited pay for economic damage from lost wage and lifetime earning potential
• Unlimited Punitive damages aka punishment awarded for malicious or willful misconduct
• and up to $250,000 for Speculative, “non-economic” damages often called pain and suffering.

However Prop 46’s trial lawyer authors are greedy and want to erase the monetary cap of $250,000 on the “speculative”, and “non-economic” damages that they can pursue

Prop 46 Threatens to eliminate access to care for the vulnerable: poor, elders, women and children by placing additional unnecessary expenses on an already economically frail medical system.  If doctors are kept busy leaving practice and paying and doing drug tests for ill defined patient mishaps. For Example Dr X would be expected to not only know when any of his/her patients like Mrs. Y fall from bed at home or in Skilled Nursing Facility so that within 12 hrs the doctor can pay for a drug test to be run on his/her self regardless of no association or direct responsibility for the “patient harm event”.  Such expensive regulation would make patients wait even longer for care either in ER, Clinic or hospital.

Prop 46 Threatens to deprave Californians of access to primary and specialty medical care.  Why? If passed Prop 46 would drastically increase the cost of malpractice insurance if the MICRA cap is removed to make “the sky the limit” on financial cost of “non economic damages”.  This would force many doctors and smaller clinics to either close or leave California.  This would increase the wait time for Californians to gain access to care: Primary, OB  and specialty care.  California would lose its educational investment if its best and brightest are forced to move to other states and countries.  California has always been progressive and leading edge.  Please do not allow the trial lawyers to force us to regress to covered wagon days when pregnant women have to travel to another state to give birth!

Prop 46 Would delay and impede timely prescription of pain and other mental health medications. If passed Prop 46 would mandate that the physician/provider check a computer base which if not maintained or accessible would block prescribing of pain or other mental health medications.

Prop 46 Would destroy patient confidentiality: Now non medical entities like law enforcement would be able access patient med lists and diagnoses.

So please Hear Ye Hear Ye from Paulette Revere for Medicine in California The Trial Lawyers are Here to Steal Your HealthCare:

Please Reclaim California as a Forward Minded State where Doing the Right Thing is a Daily Exercise:

a)Let’s support Access to medical care for all especially the vulnerable: poor, women, children and elderly can get access to medical care in a timely fashion

b)Let’s defend and Protect The privileged Patient/doctor confidentiality

c)Let’s allow doctors to Relieve Pain and sufferering without expensive bureaucratic barriers

Save your State from the interests of a few, greedy malpractice Trial Lawyers!

Save your taxes from even greater Health Care Costs that are sure to occur if Prop 46 passes.

California Needs its Health Care Expanded and Optimized not shrunken and shackled, especially with new health threats like the Ebola Virus.  Geographically and population we are the biggest state in the Union and the most to lose.

Be A Hero Today! Vote No on Prop 46:  Don’t allow the greedy trial lawyer authors of Prop 46:

• Steal Your medical care:
• Force California women to leave the state for Obstetric Care to deliver their baby.
• Or Bind the hands of your doctor from relieving pain

Remember Your taxes and Your Health Insurance premium pays for you and everybody else. We don’t need more meritless lawsuits to drive the cost of Healthcare up for all.

Vote No on Prop 46!

Thank you for listening,

Your humble Family Doctor Who’s Passion is Caring For You and Your Family and Friends, Humanity

Susan Wilturner, MD  Higher Powered Medicine, May the Truth Set You Free