Schwarzenegger opposes four Calif. health measures

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To the delight of business groups, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out against four out of five health-care measures on the state’s Nov. 2 ballot, including one employers call a “jobs-killer.”

If approved, the measures would require billions of dollars in health-care spending by employers and commit billions in state debt for hospitals and controversial medical research involving stem cells, including cells from destroyed embryos.

The glut of measures—five of the sixteen on the state ballot address health care—reflects the lack of consensus in California’s legislature on health-care spending and regulations, said Bill Hauck, president of the California Business Roundtable, a group for CEOs of major companies.

“Folks who are passionate about their particular issue are looking for ways to finance services other than going to the state’s general fund,” Hauck said.

Voters will accept higher taxes and more state debt to improve health care, according to measure supporters.

“Health care is becoming a primary concern,” said Anthony Wright, an activist with Health Access California. “It’s not just one problem. It’s several problems. These initiatives are attempts to deal with different parts of the issue.”

Polls show voters favor the measures, signaling an uphill struggle for opponents such as the state’s business lobbies and Schwarzenegger. He opposes four of the five measures because he believes California firms face too many costs and regulations.

“The business community is facing an all-out war,” said Chris Wysocki of the Small Business Survival Committee.

COSTS, TAXES, DEBT AT ISSUE

A prominent television commercial shows an actress playing a diner owner fretting about health-care expenses that may be imposed by Proposition 72, the most contentious health care measure on California’s ballot.

The California Chamber of Commerce says the measure would cost the state 150,000 jobs and impose $5.3 billion in costs on firms by requiring those with more than 200 employees to pay for 80 percent of health insurance for workers and dependents.

“It’s a huge disincentive to job creation,” said Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce.

Schwarzenegger, who vowed to make “jobs, jobs, jobs” his priority, opposes the measure, and on Monday said he also opposes propositions 61, 63 and 67.

“If an initiative is bad for the economy or adds more debt, the odds are he’s not going to support it,” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow with the Hoover Institution.

Proposition 61 would authorize $750 million for general obligation bonds for building children’s hospitals.

Proposition 63 proposes an additional 1 percent tax on taxable personal income over $1 million for mental health programs, affecting an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 tax filers.

Proposition 67 would impose additional taxes on telephone services for an emergency health-care fund.

Schwarzenegger has not taken a stand on Proposition 71, which would allow the state to sell up to $3 billion in general obligation debt for stem-cell research, including work using cells from human embryos. Measure supporters believe it may lead to cures for diseases and a biotech boom in California.

“I would guess the governor is of two minds on this,” Whalen said. “He likes the research and California maintaining its technological edge, but he doesn’t like the debt.”

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