As Schwarzenegger fashions his own plan to extend coverage to at least some of the nearly 7 million Californians who lack health insurance, he appears to be edging toward some form of mandate on employers to offer and at least partially pay for medical care for their workers...If the governor moves in that direction, his rationale may be that employers who don't cover workers are indirectly shifting their health care costs to taxpayers, those who pay for their own care and other employers.

On Monday, after visiting an emergency room in Southern California, Schwarzenegger characterized the shift as a "hidden tax on every person in this state" and declared that it's "unfair to all those families who pay health insurance for themselves and is a terrible drain on our economy." The New America Foundation estimates that the average family with health insurance is paying nearly $1,200 each year to indirectly provide services to the uninsured...

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