California Teachers Association Joins Campaign to Defeat MICRA Ballot Initiative

The CTA is the largest statewide teacher organization.

By Maria Jennings

The California Teachers Association (CTA), the largest statewide teacher association, has joined the chorus of organizations that have come out against the MICRA ballot initiative. 

The CTA, one of the state's leading voices in education, is joining the growing list of public and private organizations, including the Santa Cruz County Medical Society, that have come out against the ballot initiative.  Other organizations against the initiative include the California Medical Association, Planned Parenthood of California, the SEIU of California, and the American Civil Liberties Union of California.

"At a time when California is finally getting school funding back on track and paying back students after years of drastic budget cuts, the last thing public education needs is to be forced to foot a brand new bill for unregulated health care costs,"  CTA President Dean Vogel said in a statement. "This is a costly and harmful initiative that our students and school can't afford."

The proposed ballot initiative would raise the limit on medical malpractice insurance to around 1.1 million. This has the potential to further drive up the cost of healthcare in California, as it would force doctors to spend more on medical malpractice insurance. According to California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office, the proposed ballot initiative could increase state and local government health costs by "hundreds of millions of dollars annually."

Read CMA's full coverage of the statement here, as well as the full list of organizations against the ballot initiative here. As always, keep updated on the latest MICRA news by following us on Twitter.