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Skriven 2007-06-27 23:31:02 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070627a) for Wed, 2007 Jun 27
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President Bush Discusses Health Care
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 27, 2007

President Bush Discusses Health Care
Roosevelt Room

˙ /news/releases/2007/06/20070627-10.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Health Care

2:18 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here. I just
finished a really interesting and good discussion with a group of
distinguished health care experts. I appreciate you all taking your time.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here, as well.

These men and women have different specialties, different backgrounds, and
different ideas, but they all agree on an important fact: America's health
care system is in need of serious reform. And I agree. The American people
share that belief, as well. In my conversations with Republicans and
Democrats and business owners and workers, I hear the same concerns:
America's health care is too costly, it's too confusing; it leaves too many
people uninsured.

The fundamental question is, what should we do about it? On that question,
our nation has a clear choice. One option is to put more power in the hands
of government by expanding federal health care programs and empowering
bureaucrats to make medical decisions. The other option is to put more
power in the hands of individuals, by making private health insurance more
affordable and accessible and empowering people and their doctors to make
the decisions that are right for them. That's the divide.

Debate between these two options is now beginning to play out on Capitol
Hill. Democrat leaders in Congress are considering a massive expansion of
government health care through a program called S-CHIP, which stands for
State Children's Health Insurance Program. This program was designed to
ensure that poor children without health insurance receive the medical care
they need. I support S-CHIP for that purpose. I think it makes sense to
have a program to help poor children get the health insurance they need.

My budget increases funding for the poor children in S-CHIP. The problem is
that Democrats want to expand S-CHIP far beyond its original intent. If
their proposal becomes law, S-CHIP would expand its reach to include
children from family that earn as much as $80,000 a year, as well as some
adults. This is a massive expansion of the program.

And as a result, many of these people would give up the private health
insurance they have now as they move to government health care. In fact, a
recent study estimated that as many as half the children enrolling in
S-CHIP would drop their private health coverage, which is contrary to the
program's original purpose. The Democrats' proposal is part of a larger
strategy.

At the same time that they try to expand S-CHIP to older citizens, they are
trying to expand Medicare to younger citizens. Their goal is to take
incremental steps down the path to government-run health care for every
American. It's the wrong path for our nation. Government-run health care
would deprive Americans of the choice and competition that comes from the
private market. It would cause huge increases in government spending, which
could lead to higher taxes. It would result in rationing, inefficiency and
long-waiting lines. It would replace the doctor-patient relationship with
dependency on people here in Washington, D.C.

And there's a better way forward. We strongly believe that the S-CHIP
proposal put forward by some Democrats in Congress needs to be resisted.
And here's what we believe. We believe there's a better alternative.
Instead of expanding S-CHIP beyond its purpose, we should return its focus
to the children most in need. And instead of encouraging people to drop
private coverage in favor of government plans, we should work to make basic
private health insurance affordable for all Americans.

My administration is pursuing this goal in a variety of innovative ways. We
created health savings accounts which allow people to save, tax free, for
routine medical expenses and help reduce the cost of private insurance.
We're working to pass association health plans so that small businesses can
insure their workers with private coverage at the same discounts that big
businesses get. We're working to stop junk lawsuits to drive up private
insurance premiums and good doctors out of practice.

The best way to make private insurance more affordable, however, is to
reform the tax code. Under current law, workers who are fortunate enough to
get health insurance from their employers receive a tax benefit. But if you
buy insurance on your own, you get no tax benefit.

That's unfair, so I propose leveling the playing field. Under my plan,
every family with private health coverage will receive a standard tax
deduction of $15,000. That means families could deduct $15,000 from their
income before they pay taxes, no matter where they get their health
insurance. I'm pleased that many health care experts and members of
Congress share the objective for ending a bias in the tax code.

Now I recognize some of them believe a tax credit for health insurance
would be a better way to do so. For example, some have proposed a tax
credit of $5,000 for every family with private coverage. This would have a
similar outcome as the standard deduction I proposed, and I'm open to
further discussions about these two options.

Whichever plan we choose, reforming the tax code would have a major impact
on American health care. That's what's important for our citizens to
understand. There's a better way from expanding the government, and that is
to reform the tax code. For example, just as tax incentives for home
ownership have encouraged more Americans to buy homes through the private
housing market, new incentives for health insurance would lead more
Americans to buy coverage through the private health insurance market. And
that's what we want. That ought to be the goal of this country.

By reforming the tax code, it would help more than 100 million people who
are now covered by employer-provided insurance reduce their tax bills.
Those who now purchase health insurance on their own would save money on
their taxes for the first time. As many as 20 million others who have no
health insurance would purchase basic coverage.

While the federal government is working to reform the tax code, states
should address other problems in our health care system. That's precisely
what the Secretary is doing, working with our states. States should make
reforms to ensure that their citizens have access to basic private health
insurance. It's a dual responsibility. If we want a better system, the
federal government has got a responsibility to reform, and so do states.
As they do so, they should ensure that help is provided to those who can
least afford coverage.

We're at a decisive moment in the debate over health care. The choices we
make now will set the direction of medical care in America for years to
come. I'm going to continue to work with members of both parties to look
past tired, old proposals that make bigger government programs the solution
to every problem. I'm going to continue to push for new and innovative ways
to help every American afford basic private health insurance. I will
continue to put my trust in the good judgment of the American people, and
I'll put my trust in the finest system of private medicine in the world.

I want to thank you all for coming, thanks for your interest. Thank you.
(Applause.)

END 2:25 P.M. EDT
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