A state Senate committee on Jan. 28 voted 7-1 against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s health care reform bill, which would have guaranteed health insurance for all Californians and increased Medi-Cal reimbursements to doctors and hospitals.
While many small-business organizations announced support for the decision, other organizations such as the Sacramento-based California Hospital Association issued a statement expressing disappointment.
The National Federation of Independent Business/California had voiced concern about the loss of 41,000 jobs during the first five years of enactment.
The Sacramento-based advocacy organization’s research foundation in Sacramento conducted a study that showed the bill, ABX1 1, would result in an $8.2 billion loss to the state economy during the same five-year span.
In a news release, Schwarzenegger said: “Despite the Senate’s rejection of our comprehensive health care reform bill, I want the people of California to know I will not give up trying to fix our broken health care system. Businesses and families will still get hit with double-digit cost increases until we rein in those costs.”
, Jaimy Lee