title: How Washington State doctors battled it and won.
abstract: Mandatory medical assignment bills have been presented to the legislatures of 16 states since 1985, when a bill passed in Massachusetts tied acceptance of assignment to medical licensure, In November 1987, an initiative appeared on the Washington State voter's ballot asking that it be considered a consumer protection violation for physicians to charge more than Medicare's "reasonable" fee. This was the first time that the issue was presented to the registered voters of any state. This article details the way in which the Washington State Medical Association combatted the initiative and turned around an electorate that was 68% in favor, in August, to a final ballot of 63.9% opposed.
mesh_terms: D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D007357:Insurance, Physician Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006278:Medicare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011057:Politics; D011639:Public Opinion; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013219:State Government; D014861:Washington