Governor Vetoes Wrongful Death Bill

On behalf of the entire MSSNY leadership, please accept our sincere gratitude for the successful advocacy campaign that YOU carried out, leading to the outcome of the veto of the Grieving Families Act. MSSNY was actively engaged from the beginning—working together with many allies on this issue, including MLMIC. We identified a sense of urgency and created a clear plan with our strong guiding alliance. We communicated our plan with the county leadership, and YOU executed that plan spectacularly. Thousands of phone calls were made, and emails were sent. Social media was buzzing, and so were the op-eds. This proves the power of grassroots action.

The well-intentioned but extremely detrimental legislation would have exponentially increased the size of awards in wrongful death actions—legislation that could have increased your liability insurance premiums by 40%!!

I am happy to report to you that the Governor DID NOT sign this bill into law, meaning it WILL NOT take effect.

Thank you again for all your efforts in this campaign to preserve healthcare access for New Yorkers.

And a special thank you to local leadership, county executives, county presidents, hospital staff leadership, and all our partners.

Read MSSNY’s press statement regarding the Governor’s veto.

Read the Governor’s Veto message.

As we enter the new year, we wish you a joyous and prosperous time ahead. May it be filled with continued success and positive impact in all your endeavors. Happy New Year!

Paul A. Pipia, MD
President

Parag Mehta, MD
Immediate Past President