Governor fears health care reform will cost state

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and members of the California Congressional Delegation urging them to not impose new costs on states through unfunded federal mandates in health care reform legislation and stressing that reform will only succeed if Congress gives states, like California, the flexibility to meet current obligations within the revenues available to states.

In the letter, the Governor said for health care reform to succeed, Congress must first and foremost give states the flexibility to meet our current obligations within the revenues available to states.

"Congress must either let states reduce their costs to live within limited resources or treat states equally by fully funding all Medicaid populations above a certain eligibility level," Schwarzenegger said.