Erin Brockovich: Why I'm voting 'yes' on CA Prop. 46
Voters in California will be faced with an important ballot initiative this election day: Proposition 46. Passage of the measure would do three things—raise the cap on medical malpractice payouts for pain and suffering, require mandatory drug and alcohol testing for doctors in hospitals and create a state database to track prescriptions for painkillers.
A widespread and well-organized opposition campaign has played out over the airwaves across the state, and the editorial boards of major California newspapers have come out against the initiative. The primary criticism is that an increase in the pain and suffering cap would cause healthcare providers to have to pay more on their insurance premiums and they would then pass the higher costs on to their patients. Many also criticize the concept of a prescription database, saying it’s vulnerable and unwieldy.
The Los Angeles Times editorial board says “…as worthwhile as these goals may be, the methods the measure would use to achieve them are too flawed to be enacted into law.”
A vocal supporter of the measure is Erin Brockovich, the consumer advocate who became a household name after Julia Roberts’ Oscar-winning portrayal of the activist in the 2000 movie bearing her name. Brockovich, who lives in California says she will vote yes on Proposition 46. “This is about saving lives and helping the victims that have been harmed by medical negligence,” Brockovich tells Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task.
Brockovich says her decision to support the measure was sparked by a 2013 study from the Journal of Patient Safety which found that 440,000 Americans die each year because of preventable medical mistakes. The $250,000 cap on pain and suffering claims was implemented in 1975; it has never been raised or adjusted for inflation.
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Brockovich says, “These [medical malpractice] insurance companies make more money than any other insurance company in the country, yet when we have a victim that’s been harmed by med mal, they don’t pay out those claims.”
The measure, she says, will better protect patients’ rights and add a layer of protection in the medical system. “This isn’t about wanting to attack doctors… I would think that any doctor in good standing would not want the few out there...making it bad and running liability to all them.”
According to a recent poll, public support for the proposition is lagging with only 32 percent of likely voters saying they'll vote in favor of the measure, while 49 percent say they plan to oppose. 19 percent are still undecided.
When asked if her work consulting with law firms handling personal injury claims was a conflict in terms of her support of the proposition, Brockovich asserts her first line of duty is to protect peoples’ rights: “That’s my job as a consumer advocate… my job is not to tell a voter or a consumer how to choose but rather to give them information that can better inform them to make choices.”
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