Dive Brief:
- A father who lost two children to an impaired driver is working to push through California Proposition 46, which would establish a series of safety measures largely opposed by the state's physicians.
- One part of the proposition would make it mandatory for doctors to consult the state's CURES database, which notes how often a patient has been prescribed serious narcotics, before prescribing them.
- Another section of the proposition would raise the state cap on non-economic damages in malpractice awards from $250,000 to $1.1 million, with an annual inflation adjustment going forward. And a third section would make California the first state to conduct drug testing of doctors, both randomly and within 12 hours of an unexpected patient death or serious injury at a hospital.
Dive Insight:
Doctors and insurance companies have come together in an aggressive fight to shoot down Prop. 46, having pulled together $57 million to fight the measure. In fact, research concludes that the two industries have outspent lawyers 10 to 1 on ads aimed at getting voters to vote no. Underscoring that the meat of the dispute is over the change in malpractice caps, not a single ad mentions doctor drug testing.
The anti-Prop. 46 forces seem to be having an impact on the electorate. While early polls showed strong support for the measure, at 58%, that support has fallen dramatically to 34% as of mid-September. However, with 29% percent of voters still undecided, it's still possible that the measure could pass.