Schwarzenegger vetoes universal health care in California

"For the second time in three years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have established a government-run universal health care system.

Senate Bill 840 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, would have set up a single-payer system in which the state would assume the role that private insurance companies now play.

In his veto message, the governor said he could not support "a bill that places an annual shortfall of over $40 billion to our state's economy."...

...The veto came nine months after Kuehl, the chair of the Senate Health Committee, and other Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the governor's health care expansion program, which would have required most employees and employers to contribute to the cost of their health care...

...The governor did sign a companion measure - Assembly Bill 2569 by Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon -- that will require insurers to continue covering the family members of people whose policies have been rescinded

But he vetoed Senate Bill 981 by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, which would have prohibited hospital emergency room physicians from billing patients directly when there are billing disputes with their HMOs, a practice known as "balance billing."

In his veto message, the governor said SB 981 would have rewarded "non-contracting physicians by assuring their continued financial slice of the pie" without fixing California's "broken health care system."

In a statement, Perata, D-Oakland, said he was surprised "that a governor who aggressively pushed for health care reform would veto a measure that would have ensured a fair, uniform standard for handling disagreements over emergency room bills.""

It's a shame since, if this could get pushed through in California, the rest of the country would likely start to follow suit.