Ballot Measure Aims at Patient Safety by Raising Limits on Malpractice Suits

In a California Healthline report by Kenny Goldberg, experts discussed the arguments surrounding Proposition 46, a November ballot measure designed to improve patient safety by targeting physicians — raising the pain-and-suffering limit on malpractice lawsuits, requiring drug-testing of doctors and mandating use of a drug-reporting system that currently is voluntary.

The report includes comments from:

• Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, the main backer of the ballot initiative;
• Amitabh Chandra, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government;
• Cathy Frey, CEO of the Central Valley Health Network; and
• Richard Thorp, president of the California Medical Association (Goldberg, California Healthline, 8/20/14)

You can download a PDF of this report.