A Healthcare Solution Vetoed

Just days after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have provided healthcare for every Californian, we learn of fresh evidence that more of us than ever are going without insurance (“More U.S. Workers Go Uninsured,” Sept. 27).

The governor justified his veto in part on the belief that the proposal would create a burden for business. Yet the exact opposite is true: The bill called for a system under which the government pays for health services delivered privately by doctors and hospitals already in place, thus relieving the state’s businesses of direct responsibility for providing coverage.

Employers offering health benefits now would have seen about a 16% saving, helping them level the playing field when facing overseas competitors that do not have the same healthcare costs. And employers would have gotten a bonus: no more mountains of paperwork for insurance companies -- saving them money, time and headaches.

Business owners want to get out of the health coverage business, but deep down they know that someone has to step in to take their place. Before the governor’s veto, we had a credible candidate.

Burton Glass

Larkspur, Calif.

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Your Business cover story screams “More U.S. Workers Go Uninsured,” painting a truly grim picture of what American workers can expect in the future. Other recent Times articles have also drawn this picture in stomach-churning detail.

On Page 3 of the same section, another story states, “U.S. Falls to 6th Place in Competitiveness Index,” about a ranking of 125 of the world’s most competitive economies. The U.S. was in first place a year ago.

Four of the countries ranking ahead of the U.S. -- Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark -- have strong social services supporting their workforces, which we’ve been told are simply not economically feasible here. Other factors are budget surpluses and low levels of public debt, which seem all but politically impossible to imagine this country ever experiencing again.

We aren’t just sliding downhill; we’re headed in the wrong direction.

Marie E. Gilliam

Costa Mesa