SACRAMENTO, CA —California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill last weekend that would have required health insurance companies that cover cervical cancer treatments to cover the cost of the vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to many kinds of cervical cancers. HPV can also increase the instances of throat cancer, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.The bill passed in the Assembly by a vote of 52 – 23 and 26 – 13 in the Senate.

California has the highest cervical cancer rate in the United States. The vaccine — sold as Gardasil and is administrated in three doses over six months, costs about $360 and is widely recommended for girls and women between the ages 11 – 26.

“Without this bill, the law only requires coverage for girls 16 years or younger in group plans or insurance policies,” said the bill’s author Rep. Noreen Evans in the California Chronicle. “That fails to protect millions of California’s women within the full age range recommended for receiving the vaccine.”

HPV is primarily transmitted sexually and the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 11,000 American women will contract HPV this year with over 4,000 women dying from the disease.