Davis Recalled; Schwarzenegger Elected Governor

Voters on Tuesday recalled Gov. Gray Davis (D) and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) as the new governor, the Sacramento Bee reports (Talev, Sacramento Bee, 10/8). Davis was recalled by a margin of 54.9% to 45.1%, with 99% of precincts reporting. Schwarzenegger received 48.2% of the vote for a replacement governor, compared to 32.1% for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D) and 13.3% for Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) (Sacramento Bee, 10/7). A summary of Schwarzenegger's positions on several health care issues appears below.

Abortion: Schwarzenegger says that he generally supports abortion rights but opposes late-term abortions.
Expansion of rights for same-sex couples: Schwarzenegger has said that he would not have signed a bill (AB 205) that expands health coverage and other benefits to same-sex, registered couples but that he generally supports domestic partnerships.
Medical marijuana: Schwarzenegger supports medical marijuana.
SB 2: Schwarzenegger opposes SB 2, which would require some employers in the state to provide health insurance to employees or pay into a state fund that would provide coverage. Schwarzenegger says that it is too costly for businesses and instead supports expanding Healthy Families.
Workers compensation: Schwarzenegger supports two bills (AB 227 and SB 228) that seek to lower premiums mainly through tighter controls on medical costs, but he seeks further reforms to reduce litigation and eliminate "excessive" permanent disability payments. Schwarzenegger intends to appoint a new team focused specifically on cost containment to the Division of Workers' Compensation (California Healthline, 10/6).

Major Coverage

Links to state and national news outlets' recall election coverage appears below.

Editorials

Summaries of editorials addressing health care-related election issues are provided below.

California voters want "effective" health care and a balanced budget, in addition to better schools, safe neighborhoods and low college tuition and taxes, a Sacramento Bee editorial on the election results states (Sacramento Bee, 10/8).
Health insurance and "shortfalls" in agencies intended to help people with disabilities and people with mental illnesses are among state residents' main concerns, columnist Loretta Green writes in the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose Mercury News, 10/7).

Additional information on SB 2 is available online. This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.