President Bush's veto of a bill that would have allowed California to achieve near-universal health care for children comes at a critical juncture in the state.

Employer-based coverage is decreasing, enrollment in the state's Healthy Families program is increasing and efforts by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrats to overhaul the health care system have not yielded a solution a month into a special legislative session.

Moreover, new Bush administration rules would make it harder for California to enroll children from middle-income families in Healthy Families.

"For Schwarzenegger and (Democrats), Healthy Families is a big part of health reform," said Peter Harbage, a consultant who has prepared a study for the California Healthcare Foundation on the possible impact of reduced funding from the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program.

SCHIP provides $2 for every $1 the state spends on its Healthy Families program for children. But a $60 billion, five-year extension of SCHIP approved by Congress with bipartisan support was vetoed last week by the president...

Peter Harbage is a Senior Program Associate at New America Foundation. For a direct link to this article, please visit the Sacramento Bee website.