BILL NUMBER:  AB 542
  VETOED	DATE: 09/29/2010




To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 542 without my signature.
It is amazing to think that health care providers and facilities get
paid, even when they operate on the wrong patient; give the wrong
drug; administer a fatal medical procedure; transmit a preventable
infection; or worse.   My Administration has tried to enact
"non-payment" policies since my health reform effort in 2007.
Providers have resisted this commonsense policy for years.  So, it is
understandably hard for me to veto this measure.  However, while I
am supportive of stakeholder expertise in the development of
California's non-payment policies and procedures for
healthcare-acquired conditions consistent with the provisions of
federal health reform, legislation is not required for the Department
Health Care Services to undertake this process.  Nor, given the
provider community's significant resistance to implementation of
these policies, do I think it would be a worthwhile use of the
Department's time.
In addition, California needs to enact legislation that consistently
applies these non-payment policies to both public and private health
coverage while ensuring that no patient bears the fiscal
responsibility for these preventable mistakes.  Legislation needs to
clearly prohibit balance-billing under these circumstances to ensure
that health facilities and providers bear the responsibility for
their actions.
Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger