Bush Remarks On Health Care Reform (2/2)

2/11/2002

From: White House Press Office, 202-456-2580

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Following is a transcript of remarks by the President on health care reform (part 2 of 2):

I also strongly believe that the legislation that I proposed to help unemployed workers makes a lot of sense. And it's this: as soon as a person qualifies for unemployment benefits, the government would cover 60 percent of the cost of continuing their health care. That's a proper role for the federal government. The role of the federal government is to help people who have been unemployed, not only with benefits, but also with their health care costs.

And the same principle of encouraging choice and helping people help themselves must apply as well to two government-sponsored programs, Medicaid and Medicare.

Medicaid and the S-CHIP program provide essential coverage for low income families and seniors, and persons with disabilities. These Americans also deserve more choices. My budget gives states more flexibility to provide better options in Medicaid and S-CHIP, and makes additional funds available for states to improve the coverage.

And the Medicare program is a source of security and dignity for tens of millions of our seniors. It is an incredibly important commitment that our federal government has made. I strongly support Medicare because it is so crucial in the lives of older Americans. But I understand that Medicare is antiquated. It has not kept pace with advances in medicine. For instance, when Medicare was established in 1965, health care usually meant hospital care. Today we understand how important it is to prevent people from getting sick in the first place -- yet Medicare does not fully cover preventive medicine.

In the past 37 years, many new medicines have arrived to replace invasive treatments and surgeries. These drugs can be more effective than surgery and are far less expensive. A serious stomach ulcer, for instance, once required a lengthy stay in the hospital and many thousands of dollars in medical bills. Today, the ulcer can be cured with prescriptions costing only hundreds of dollars. Yet Medicare would only cover the surgery, not the prescription.

We must bring Medicare into the 21st century: to expand its coverage, to improve its services, to strengthen its financing and to give seniors more control over the health care they receive. (Applause.) I think we're making progress in Washington; progress toward convincing the Congress that all wisdom doesn't exist in Washington bureaucracies when it comes to health care for the elderly. We've got Republicans and Democrats and an independent from the United States Senate working on Medicare reform.

Seniors who are happy with the current system should be able to keep the coverage just the way it is. In other words, if there is a senior living in America who says, I love Medicare just the way it is, nothing changes. And that's an important -- it's important for a lot of Americans to hear that. But all seniors should be offered different options, a range of options from which to choose, in both the private sector and private markets, as well as a better government plan with better Medigap options. And all of these choices -- all of them -- however, must include prescription drug coverage. (Applause.)

The second goal of reform is quality -- the ability for a patient to get the best care from the doctor of our choice.

Managed care plans have done a lot to make health care more affordable for many people. They can also unfairly deny coverage, and step between doctor and patient. When such basic rights are lost, they've got to be restored by law. And that's why I urge Congress to get a patients' bill of rights to my desk. (Applause.)

We're close to an agreement on this issue. I've given a message to Congress: please send me a bill that protects all patients, not just a fortunate few. Send me a bill with comprehensive patient protections. No one should be charged extra, for example, for simply visiting the nearest emergency room. No one should have to run a bureaucratic gauntlet before he or she can see a specialist. And if health plans deny care, every patient should have the right to a prompt review by an impartial panel of doctors.

Finally, we should be serving the interests of the patients, not the self-interest of trial lawyers. (Applause.) There will always be matters that can and will be resolved in a courtroom. But with a strong review process, most disagreements between patients and health plans will end up in medical care, not in the courtroom.

Needless litigation does not -- needless litigation does incredible harm to our health care system. It costs everyone time and money -- especially patients who need care quickly -- and can destroy the bond of trust between physician and patient. Frivolous lawsuits drive up insurance premiums for everybody, and discourage employers from offering employee coverage at all. It is really important to remember that we want to help doctors to heal, not encourage lawyers to sue. (Applause.)

And the hostile legal atmosphere that doctors face is adding to costs and undermining the quality of health care in practical ways. At some hospitals, for instance, doctors have worked closely with one another to cut the rate of infection after surgery by more than half. Yet when they discuss that information openly, or put it on a paper for the benefit of others, they also put themselves at risk of a lawsuit. We actually have a system that penalizes doctors for trying to prevent errors and avoid complications in patient care. And that doesn't make much sense. These good faith efforts do not deserve the punishment of a lawsuit and Congress needs to do something about that. (Applause.)

When it helps patients, information must be broadly shared. In the Medicare system, we're giving people more information on the quality of nursing homes all across the country -- and we plan to do the same thing throughout the health care system. Increased reliance on information technology will not only lower costs, it also holds great promise for detection and treatment and the development of new cures for disease.

Personal medical information, however, must always be strictly confidential. A patient's right to privacy must be protected, and we will enforce those protections.

My final goal in health care reform is to make sure government acts where it should -- providing a strong health care safety net and promoting research on the frontiers of science. The federal government has accepted these responsibilities, and we must fulfill them.

Many of the poor and uninsured, including legal immigrants, are outside our system of health care entirely. Their neighborhoods often have few health care professionals or facilities. They have little or no access to preventive care, and most treatment takes place in an expensive emergency room.

Around the country, more than 3,000 community health centers are fighting these problems -- by giving immunizations, providing prenatal care, and treating illness before they become medical emergencies. I strongly support these community health centers because they're compassionate -- (applause). They are compassionate, they are cost effective, and America needs more of them. And so I've set this goal: we need 1,200 more community health centers over the next five years to make sure our government fulfills its commitment to the need. (Applause.)

The federal government has a large role in medical research, as you well know here. And that role is now urgent. In response to the threats facing our nation, we've committed more than $2 billion to develop new tests and new treatments for bioterror weapons. (Applause.) This research is not only important for the immediate, but it is likely to produce new insights into the treatment of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS. Our massive effort to ensure the safety of our people will improve the health of our people.

The National Institutes of Health is one of the most successful government undertakings in our history. The work of the NIH has helped us defeat a long list of diseases and dangers to public health. Now, as scientists begin to read the codes of life itself, we are nearing incredible breakthroughs in the fight against disease. We may, in our lifetime, lift from humanity the curse of cancer.

This is a moment of great national challenge, and the work of the NIH has become even more urgent and promising. I'm asking Congress to give strong support to the NIH, and my budget achieves the goal I set out when I sought the vote, and that is we will have doubled the NIH goal at the end of the year 2003. (Applause.)

Science is -- on the very sources, is closing in on the sources of sickness and disease. By 2010, scientists predict, genetic tests will allow individuals to know if they are predisposed to certain conditions. Within 20 years, targeted drug and gene therapies will be available for diabetes and hypertension and other diseases.

As we pursue the promise of these projects, we must also be alert to their dangers. Genetic information should be an opportunity to prevent and treat disease, not an excuse for discrimination. (Applause.) Just as we addressed discrimination based on race, we must now prevent discrimination based on genetic information. (Applause.)

There is another danger to guard against: the use of genetic research to threaten the dignity of life itself. The powers of science are morally neutral -- as easily used for bad purposes as good ones. In the excitement of discovery, we must never forget that mankind is developed -- is defined not by intelligence alone, but by conscience. Even the most noble ends do not justify every means. (Applause.) Life itself is always to be valued and protected. In biomedical research, we're dealing with the very makings of life -- and the law must be firm and clear in restraining the reckless and protecting the voiceless. (Applause.)

These are the goals of health care reform -- principles to make a good system even better. We'll put our trust in the choices of patients and the decisions of doctors -- the surest way to better coverage and better care. We'll protect patients and doctors from unfair treatment and unreasonable lawsuits. And government will fulfill its unique responsibilities to provide a health care safety net, and conduct the research that holds such great hope for all of us.

With these reforms, new breakthroughs in medical research will reach the patients who need them -- quickly and at the lowest cost possible.

I believe America can achieve anything it sets its mind to. I believe -- I don't believe, I know we're going to win the war against terror. (Applause.) And I know if we honor our professionals and honor our patients, and recognize the limited role of government, if we trust Americans to make the right choices for their lives, we'll have the health care system that remains the envy of the world.

There's no doubt in my mind that with the right reforms, the right philosophy, a philosophy of trust -- trust in people -- that America will remain on the cutting edge of medicine. And as America remains on the cutting edge of medicine, America will be the promised land for all of us.

It is such an honor to be here. I want to thank the youngsters who are going to be docs. I want to thank you for your service. (Applause.) Give them an "A" for attending, for sitting through this lecture. (Laughter.) But I do appreciate it.

And I also appreciate your professors. (Applause.) And I appreciate the chance to come and share with my fellow citizens about the future of health care in America.

May God bless you all. (Applause.)

END 3:25 P.M. CST