"Heck yeah, I'm OK with blood,"
The Associated Press February 21, 2007, 2:13PM EST text size: TT
Bush touts plan to help uninsured
By BEN FELLER
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.
President Bush on Wednesday pushed his plan to expand health care
coverage to millions of people by shifting decisions -- and
responsibility -- to individuals.
Bush's proposal is one of the few major initiatives from his
scaled-back State of the Union address last month. It assumes market
forces and changes in the tax code will expand affordable choices.
"The best decisions are made by providers and patients, not by
governments and insurance companies," Bush said during comments at the
Chattanooga Convention Center.
"If you want a health care system that really works, you want the
decision-maker to be the individual, in consultation with somebody who
knows what they're talking about -- somebody trained to help that
person make the proper decision," Bush said. "That'd be your doctor."
The main ingredient of Bush's proposal would be a change in the tax
code that, for the first time, would treat health insurance costs as
taxable income -- meaning that workers' taxable wages will increase.
In turn, Bush wants a standard tax deduction for those who buy health
insurance -- $15,000 for family coverage and $7,500 for individual
coverage. Those who chose insurance policies below the size of the new
deduction would end up with a decrease in their tax bills.
Key Democratic leaders have denounced Bush's plan. They say it does
little to help the poorest of the uninsured and undercuts a system
built on employer-provided coverage.
"While the president's focus on health care is important, his
proposals will only worsen the crisis by undermining the quality
coverage that millions of working families now rely on," said
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, chairman of the
Senate panel that oversees health matters.
Still, White House officials see health care as one of a few areas in
which they might advance their agenda with Democrats who now control
Congress. They got a boost last week when a bipartisan group of 10
senators told Bush they want to work with him to expand health
coverage.
Bush received a hearty ovation as he described his plan in
Chattanooga. He shared a stage with people who hold full-time jobs but
can't afford health insurance for their families.
One of them was Danny Jennings, a father of two and manager of a
nursery. Bush said the change in tax code would save Jennings more
than $4,000 a year on his tax bill.
"There's more money in his pocket as a result of the standard tax
deduction, and there's more peace of mind knowing that his kids -- and
he and his wife -- are covered," Bush said.
People will also start paying attention to how much health procedures
really cost, which is bound to help, Bush said. The president compared
it to knowing how much a car costs.
And then he realized he doesn't know that.
"I used to," said a laughing Bush, who travels by limousine. "I will soon."
Earlier, Bush toured the nonprofit Erlinger Hospital, which is allied
with the University of Tennessee's College of Medicine. Erlinger
serves patients from 50 counties in a 150-mile radius.
Dr. Donald Chamberlain explained to Bush how he used a robot-assisted
device to minimize blood loss during a recent cancer surgery. As Bush
watched a video of the invasive procedure, the doctor asked him:
"Blood OK? You OK with blood?"
"Heck yeah, I'm OK with blood," Bush said, with an eye on the cameras
on him. "How about you, doc?"
The White House characterizes its approach as basic fairness, in that
every person will get the same tax deduction whether they get health
coverage through their job or on their own.
Bush also wants to redirect federal dollars that hospitals and other
institutions get to help cover costs for caring for the uninsured.
With this money, states would set up programs to assist people in
getting health coverage and help people with high-cost health
conditions.
On the way out of town, Bush popped into Porker's Bar-B-Que
restaurant, where he posed for photos, shook hands and sat down in a
booth to chat with local residents.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8NE9K880.htm
--
No enemies had ever taken Ankh-Morpock. Well technically they had,
quite often; the city welcomed free-spending barbarian invaders, but
somehow the puzzled raiders found, after a few days, that they didn't
own their horses any more, and within a couple of months they were
just another minority group with its own graffiti and food shops.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Eric)
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