Comments on: Plebiscite Time Is Fun Time

By: FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » California Special Election Watch: Flap’s Voter Guide for November 8

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 17:47:00 +0000

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By: damnum absque injuria » If You Don’t Vote Wrong, You Have No Right to Complain

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 14:48:00 +0000

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By: yami

yami — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 20:58:00 +0000

Maine’s bill may or may not align with the original proposal in a way that the electorate would have wanted; that’s not the point. It’s still a significantly different program from what Ohio has, or what Prop 78 is offering - significantly better, IMO, because it covers more people and provides meaningful punishments for companies that don’t participate in the program. I think that’s worth a small amount of possible delay.
The lawsuits that people would be able to file against a particular drug manufacturer are not the same as the sort of lawsuits that might delay the implementation of Prop 79. If I sue a drug manufacturer under the price gouging provisions, the program will go on while my suit is heard (or thrown out, as most truly frivolous suits are). The delays in implementation would be a result of contention about whether Prop 79’s alterations of MediCal policy can be implemented without federal approval, or at all - or at least, that’s my understanding, please correct me if I’m wrong.
The people who would sue to block the program are the drug companies who stand to lose money from it - the same companies pushing Prop 78. I don’t want to see California just give in and allow Big Pharma to dictate our health care policy because we’re too scared of the boogeymen in lawyer suits to fight for what we really want.

By: Antoine

Antoine — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 18:26:00 +0000

Why should there be a delay in the program at all? The folks in Maine finally got their bill, but it was very different from what they voted for in the first place. As far as the lawsuits are concerned, 79 leaves any prescription filled by those eligiable for the program, we’re talking like 200 million, open to a lawsuit. These frivolous suits are very hard to win and can take years like you said. So what’s the point?

By: yami

yami — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 01:26:00 +0000

I try to be an impartial grader.
I’ve heard this “oh 79 will explode with lawsuits!” argument before, but I don’t understand what makes it so unusually lawsuitigenic. The legal challenges that delayed implementation of a similar program in Maine have worked their way through the courts, and they failed; Maine residents have reverted to buying their drugs in Maine and not in Canada. With that precedent in hand, I’m not sure why the inevitable lawsuits would merit a preliminary injunction against the program.

By: Antoine

Antoine — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 21:31:00 +0000

How can you give 79 a D- and still say yes? The program is going to cause a mess with all of the lawsuits that will spin from this propositon. It is certainly not better than nothing, because these folks will not see changes for while. At least 78 is effective right away.

By: yami

yami — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 02:20:00 +0000

Mostly the part where their daughters get the shit beat out of them because they’re too young, naive, and scared to navigate the judicial bypass system. Or because a judge thought s/he could do a better job of predicting her parents’ response than she herself could, and was wrong. And also the part where girls use coat hangers because they’re simply afraid to disappoint their parents.
And some philosophical concerns about whether or not the government should be attempting to produce healthy families by ham-fisted mandate, but those are secondary.
And so what if a teenage girl is able to make her reproductive choices in private? Are a parent’s hurt feelings really more important than the lives of girls like Becky Bell?

By: laxpat

laxpat — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 01:10:00 +0000

What about letting parents know that their daughters are having an abortion is bad policy?

By: damnum absque injuria » Request for Voter Guides

damnum absque injuria » Request for Voter Guides — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 20:13:00 +0000

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