| Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced
he will veto SB 840 (Kuehl), which would create a single-payer,
government-run health care system. The following op-ed
ran today in the San Diego Union Tribune: I commend
Sen. Sheila Kuehl's commitment and dedication to providing
health care coverage for all Californians, but I must
veto SB 840 because I cannot support a government-run
health care system.
Socialized medicine is not the solution to our state's
health care problems. This bill would require an extraordinary
redirection of public and private funding by creating
a vast new bureaucracy to take over health insurance
and medical care for Californians - a serious and expensive
mistake. Such a program would cost the state billions
and lead to significant new taxes on individuals and
businesses, without solving the critical issue of affordability.
I won't jeopardize the economy of our state for such
a purpose.
SB 840 relies on the failed old paradigm of using one
source - this time the government - to solve the complex
problem of providing medical care for our people. It
uses the same one-sided approach tried in SB 2, the
employer-mandated coverage measure signed into law before
I became governor. I opposed SB 2 because it placed
nearly the entire burden on employers, and voters repealed
it in 2004.
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 it 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.
With my partners in the Legislature, I look forward
in 2007 to working to develop a comprehensive and systemic
approach to health care that not only provides affordable
medical treatment to people when they are ill, but that
strives to make sure people don't get sick in the first
place. An approach that supports cost containment and
recognizes the shared responsibility of individuals,
employers and government. That promotes personal responsibility
and builds on existing private and public systems.
As part of this comprehensive approach, my administration
already has worked hard on the fight against obesity,
a leading cause of disease in this country.
I signed the landmark Healthy Schools Now Act, which
bans junk food and sugar-laden drinks in public schools.
Our budget also included $18 million to replace that
junk food with fresh fruits and vegetables so we can
start promoting healthy living choices for our youngsters.
On the question of access, I've made children's coverage
a priority, resulting in nearly a quarter million additional
children covered by our Medi-Cal and Healthy Families
programs.
And on the question of affordability, I reached agreement
with the Legislature to provide discounts on prescription
drugs of up to 60 percent for our neediest citizens.
But we're not stopping there.
I convened a California Health Care Summit in July
that for the first time brought together experts on
all sides of this issue. At the table with us were representatives
from academia, government, business, health care and
labor.
From that summit and follow-up meetings, there emerged
a strong sense of how to proceed on health care reform.
Affordability is the key to making our system work
for everyone, and affordability is exactly what we are
dedicating ourselves to.
By implementing a statewide plan advancing health information
technology that I called for in a recent executive order,
we can shave billions of dollars off healthcare costs
in California.
By creating the 500 elementary school-based health
centers I called for in our Health Summit, medical treatment
will be more accessible to our children who need it
most and they can avoid costly emergency care.
With the same willingness to compromise that we showed
this past legislative session on issues like global
warming, I know we can reach our goals. I look forward
to working with Sen. Kuehl and other members of the
Legislature, as well as the experts who participated
in our summit and other stakeholders, to create a healthier
California.
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