The Best Thing About the Proposed California Initiative Named After Luigi Mangione Is the Title
His name and likeness have appeared on t-shirts, in graffiti, and in so, so many memes. Now, Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, might have his name end up in a California law as well.
Over the weekend, California news outlets reported that a proposed ballot initiative titled the “Luigi Mangioni [sic] Access to Healthcare Act” had been submitted to the California Attorney General’s Office for review.
The proposed initiative’s title is predictably drawing a lot of attention, as it is named after an alleged murderer.
The proposed initiative’s author, retired Los Angeles-based attorney Paul Eisner, says that’s kind of the whole point. “It is getting the attention it needs because sometimes things require publicity,” Eisner told CBS 8.
While it has certainly attracted publicity, the controversy over the proposed ballot initiative’s working title has distracted people from its even worse substance.
Eisner’s proposal states that no insurer may “delay, deny, or modify any medical procedure or medication” recommended by a treating physician—or even demand reduced payment for such treatments—if doing so could result in disability, death, permanent disfigurement, or the loss or reduction of “any bodily function.”
Insurers would have to rely on their own doctors to deny a claim or reduce payment for a procedure. If an insurer is sued for denying a claim, they would have to prove with “clear and convincing” evidence that the procedure is unnecessary. This would mean that an insurer couldn’t argue they are denying a claim because the provider’s proposed costs are outrageously high.
The consequences of this initiative would be sweeping and probably fatal f
Article from Reason.com
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