A proposed ballot initiative named the “Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act” has been submitted to the California Attorney General’s Office in honor of the accused murderer.
Mangione, 26, has become somewhat of a folk hero as he is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
The proposal would amend the state’s Health and Safety Code to curb insurers’ ability to deny or delay medical treatments recommended by physicians.
KTLA reports:
The initiative would make it illegal for an insurance company to “delay, deny or modify any medical procedure or medication” suggested by a licensed physician in the Golden State, which could have serious consequences such as “disability, death, amputation, permanent disfigurement, loss or reduction of any bodily function,” the document stated.
If the initiative is enacted, any decision by an insurer to delay, deny or modify can only be made by a physician on behalf of any insurer. The initiative would also make it a felony to employ someone who is not a physician to review a decision made by a physician.
Should insurance companies delay, they would have to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the medication or procedure was unnecessary or would not result in disability, death, amputation, permanent disfigurement or the loss or reduction of any bodily function.
Public comments about the measure will be open through April 25.
Authorities allege that Mangione meticulously planned the attack and killed Thompson in cold blood, driven by frustration with the U.S. healthcare system.
A handwritten letter found on Mangione at the time of his arrest labeled insurance companies “parasitic” and decried corporate greed, sentiments echoed by bullet casings at the crime scene inscribed with “DENY,” “DEPOSE,” and “DELAY”—terms often linked to insurance claim denials.
Mangione is facing federal and state charges, including murder as an act of terrorism, and could face the death penalty if convicted on the most serious charges.
