New California Healthcare Ordinance Proposal to Be Named After Assassin Luigi Mangione

A newly proposed California ballot initiative named after Luigi Mangione would make it illegal to “delay and deny” healthcare coverage. Mangione is the the Ivy League grad accused of executing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in cold blood.

Aimed at making it illegal for insurance companies in California to “delay, deny or modify any medical procedure or medication,” and suggested by a doctor that could have serious health consequences, received new criticism over the weekend when it was revealed that the title of the initiative would be named after Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

According a California Attorney General’s office filing by Los Angeles lawyer Paul Eisner, he is now attempting to call the initiative the “Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act.”

“I request that the Attorney General prepare a circulating title along with a summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure,” wrote Eisner. “I would request that the title be: “the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act” as set forth in the text of the proposed initiative.”

The filing to the Initiative Coordinator also made it clear on what the proposed imitative aimed to do. Under the proposal by Eisner, insurers cannot “delay, deny, or modify any medical procedure or medication” given by a licensed doctor, if the procedure was of vital importance. Insurers would need to have evidence to deny a claim or reduce payment for a procedure, and if sued, would need to prove that the procedure was unnecessary.

While the number of denials would fall, costs would likely rise because of the spike of likely legal challenges to claim denials and the higher number of approved claims. Insurance companies would also face losing significant bargaining rights with hospitals and would have to pay high legal fees if they lose claim legal battles in court. In essence, if the ordinance is successfully voted on by voters through a ballot proposition, health insurance companies could balk at doing business in California.

However, the name of the proposed ordinance drew the most controversy because Eisner wanted to name it after such an infamous individual. Mangione, who is currently in jail in New York, is the main suspect in the December 2024 murder of Thompson, with evidence including bullets with “delay”, “deny”, and “depose” carved on them. Mangione’s mixed public reception, with some calling him a murderer and others praising him for fighting back against the health insurance industry, has been the subject of national debate for months. When it came to naming a bill for ending the majority of insurance claim denials, Eisner made it clear that the naming was primarily because of publicity reasons and wanting to get attention for the ordinance.

“That’s kind of the whole point,” confirmed Eisner on Monday. “It is getting the attention it needs because sometimes things require publicity.”

Currently, the proposed initiative is under review in the Attorney General’s office. Public comments, which in the past have sometimes been a make or break point for initiatives, are open for proposed initiative through April 25th. Public comments can be submitted through the active measures page of the office of the Attorney General here.