Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed into law legislation requiring that all state residents purchase health insurance. In a key development, Romney vetoed a provision which requires employers with more than nine employees to pay a $295 per employee penalty for failing to provide insurance to their workers. Romney, who is aiming at the Republican nomination in 2008, said he made the move in response to complaints from small business owners. The state's overwhelmingly Democratic legislature is expected to override the veto at some point next week. The law is expected to provide coverage for about 500,000 people--meaning that about 95 percent of the state's residents will have insurance coverage.
- read the report in The New York Times