Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday announced he intends to veto a bill opposed by business that would have set up a single-payer, universal health care system.
The bill, SB 840 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, would have replaced the private health insurance marketplace with the state-run California Health Insurance System, governed by a health insurance commissioner and a new health insurance agency.
Proponents of the measure including labor unions, physician and nurses groups said it would have cut down on health care costs by eliminating insurance company profits. Opponents including major business groups and insurance companies said it would have reduced consumer choice and increased the costs to business and taxpayers.
In an op-ed making the announcement of his veto, Schwarzenegger said:
“I want to see a new paradigm that addresses affordability, shared responsibility and the promotion of healthy living. Single-payer, government-run health care does none of this. Yet (the bill) would reduce a person’s ability to choose his or her own physician, make people wait longer for treatment and raise the cost of that treatment.”