California's governor and healthcare terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a $12 billion "universal" healthcare proposal that would impose new fees on doctors, hospitals, and employers, and require the uninsured to buy coverage.
Since Schwarzenegger's proposal involves tax increases it requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
The Democrat-dominated legislature plans to put it to a vote to show how little support it has. A Field Poll showed that only 33 percent of the public support it.
The Democrats have proposed an alternate plan, structured so that it needs only a simple majority to pass. This would force employers to spend at least 7.5 percent of payroll on healthcare or pay that amount into a state-run pool — almost twice the amount Schwarzenegger proposed. The governor has promised to veto this plan should it come to his desk.
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