Proposition Summary

HEALTH CARE. CONSUMER PROTECTION. TAXES ON CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Prohibits health care businesses from: discouraging health care professionals from informing patients/advocating for treatment; offering incentives for withholding care; refusing services recommended by licensed caregiver without examination by business's own professional; increasing charges without filing required statement; conditioning coverage on arbitration agreement. Requires health care businesses to: make tax returns public; establish criteria written by licensed health professionals for denying payment for care; establish staffing standards for health care facilities. Authorizes public/private enforcement actions. Establishes nonprofit public corporation for consumer advocacy. Assesses taxes for certain corporate structure changes. Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact: Increased revenues from new taxes on health care businesses--potentially in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually--to fund a corresponding amount of expenditures for specified health care services. Additional state and local costs for existing health care programs and benefits, probably in the range of tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, depending on several factors. Reduced state General Fund revenue of up to tens of millions of dollars annually because the new taxes would reduce businesses' taxable income.

Proposition Number

216

Year

1996

Document Type

Proposition

Pass/Fail

Fail

Popular Vote Results

Y: 3540845; A: 38.7; N: 5593589; B: 61.3

Election Type

General Election

Proposition Type

Initiative

For Author

Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate; Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias, M.D., Former President, American Public Health Association; Kit Costello, R.N., President, California Nurses Association

Against Author

Sister Krista Ramirez, R.N., Sisters of Mercy; William S. Weil, M.D., Cedars Sinai Health Associates; Sally C. Pipes, Economist, Pacific Research Institute of Public Policy

Rebuttal Author

Sister Carol Padilla, R.N., Daughter of Charity; Sally C. Pipes, Economist, Pacific Research Institute of Public Policy; Gordon Jones, Legislative Director, The Seniors Coalition

Rebuttal Against Author

Harvey Rosenfiel, Executive Director, Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights; Dr. Sheldon Margen, M.D., Founder, University of California Wellness Newsletter; Linda Ross, Co-Chair, California Committee of Small Business Owners

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