Proposed laws are sometimes named after victims of crimes. But alleged murderers? Not so much. That's where a ballot initiative in California breaks with tradition. The "Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act," a ballot initiative named for the man who allegedly killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in cold blood, aims to prevent health insurance companies from denying medical care to patients, per KFMB. It states "no insurer may delay, deny, or modify any medical procedure or medication" recommended by a doctor "where the delay, denial, or medication could result in disability, death, amputation, permanent disfigurement, loss or reduction of any bodily function."
The initiative notes that any decision to delay, deny, or modify care must be made on behalf of an insurer by a physician. It also would allow patients to sue insurers and take home three times the amount of damages determined by a jury if successful, per KTLA. "People are tired of carriers, of insurance companies denying them health care," retired litigator Paul Eisner, the man behind the initiative, tells KFMB. The initiative is personal to Eisner, who says he and his insurance company were wrapped up in numerous disputes following his cancer diagnosis.
Though the title has drawn criticism—the California Association of Health Plans said Eisner's use of "a murder and act of terrorism to market his political agenda" was "repugnant"—Eisner stands by it. "Sometimes things require publicity," he tells KFMB. He doesn't support Mangione's alleged actions, but "I agree with what he was arguing," he says, referring to alleged writings about a broken US healthcare system involving "parasitic" health insurance companies. "What I am doing is the right way to do it," Eisner adds. The ballot initiative is open for public comment until April 25. It will then undergo review by the California Attorney General's Office, which will have final say on the title, per KTLA. (More Luigi Mangione stories.)
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