A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled against allowing a ballot initiative for the upcoming Nov. 3 election to continue.
Judge Pamela S. Gates ruled out more than 150,000 voter signatures for a measure that would increase hospital workers’ wages and make sure those with pre-existing conditions don’t lose coverage.
D.J. Quinlan, spokesperson for the Healthcare Rising Initiative, said, “We’re disappointed with this court ruling. Right now, Arizonans continue to suffer with millions of dollars of surprise medical bills and there’s currently a lawsuit that could cause 2.8 million Arizonans to lose their protection from discrimination against preexisting conditions.”
Quinlan said the group will appeal Friday’s ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Garrick Taylor with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce agreed with the judge’s decision and said if the measure had been allowed to proceed it would have only left the health care sector with bad choices such as increasing costs to patients, reducing services or even possibly closing facilities in rural areas.
