Calif. nixes smoking-cessation bill
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes a bill that would have mandated unprecedented insurance coverage for smoking-cessation products and services in California. Senate Bill 220 cleared the state Senate in August by a 22-13 margin and was vetoed Sept. 30. "This bill represents a costly health mandate that goes beyond current federal law," Schwarzenegger wrote of SB 220, which would have required coverage of Rx and OTC cessation drugs with no copayments, coinsurance or deductibles (1"The Tan Sheet" July 12, 2010). Although the bill's proponents touted it as a means of cutting into California's $8.6 billion annual costs related to tobacco addiction, the governor signed other legislation to codify broader preventive health service coverage requirements. A spokeswoman for the American Lung Association said the group is "very disappointed" in California's failure to pass SB 220, and it will await the results of the state's upcoming gubernatorial election before setting out a plan for reintroducing the bill in 2011
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