The twin measures are in response to frequent peeks into celebrity medical files, which are often leaked to media. Among the victims of the medical file peeking is the governor's wife, Maria Shriver.
Aside from Shriver, who belongs to the Kennedy clan, other victims of the medical file breach were actress Farrah Fawcett and pop star Britney Spear. The infractions were committed by over 100 staff of the UCLA Medical Center. Some of the erring hospital employees have been dismissed or suspended, while others are still facing investigation.
Schwarzenegger said in a statement, "Repeated violation of patient confidentiality are potentially harmful to Californians, which is why financial penalties are needed to ensure employees and facilities do not breach confidential medical information."
Meanwhile, the governor vetoed on the same day another bill cracking down on health insurance firms that cancel policies of people who make expensive claims. The bill proposed the creation of an independent review process for each case and mandated policies be canceled only if the insurance companies prove the policy holder willfully misrepresented pre-existing conditions on the application papers.
Schwarzenegger said he was against cancellation of health policies, but pushed for inclusion of six other protective measures, including continuing the health policy of family members whose main holder's insurance had already been rescinded. He approved one bill which contained that specific provision.
