Veto pen.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made news last week with vetoes of drug importation bills, had also made liberal use of his veto pen on a series of other health care issues.

Schwarzenegger, who generally hews to the philosophy that less regulation is better than more, vetoed a bill that would have required hospitals to provide discounts to uninsured patients. He stated in his veto message that hospitals should be given time to follow through on a voluntary discount plan they announced earlier this year.

Other vetoed legislation would have tightened public notification requirements for hospitals planning to close. Another bill would have required financially ailing hospitals to stay open for nine months to allow for public takeovers. Also vetoed was a bill that would have required hospitals to buy equipment for lifting patients rather than relying on nurses and other workers who can suffer workplace injuries.

Several of the vetoes drew criticism from the California Nurses Association, which complained that the governor showed an indifference to patients and caregivers. But the governor also drew praise from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for legislation that will allow addicts to purchase hypodermic needles from pharmacies to help halt the spread of bloodborne diseases.

Another signed bill codifies the independence of physician staffs from hospital administration, and another one requires insurance companies to cover the registered domestic partners of employees as they do spouses.

Staff reporter Laurence Darmiento can be reached at [phone], ext. 237, or at [e-mail].