Bush's stance on health care

[ybbor]

as we have another post on kerry's ideas i figure i might as well post Bush's

Making Health Care More Accessible and Affordable

President Bush believes that all Americans should have access to affordable, high-quality health care. To achieve that goal, he has:

• Created New Health Savings Accounts. The President signed legislation that makes HSAs available to millions of Americans. HSAs offer flexible, affordable insurance options for small businesses and individuals. All Americans who purchase a low-cost, high-deductible health care plan can save tax-free money to pay routine medical expenses and save for future health care costs. Those who open these accounts will not pay taxes on any money used to pay for medical care that they or their employers put into the Health Savings Account. And interest earned on money in the account also is tax-free. The money in the account will grow over the years and can be used for future medical needs.

• Created a Prescription Drug Benefit under Medicare. In December 2003, President Bush signed legislation that will make prescription drug coverage available to 40 million seniors and people with disabilities through Medicare. The new benefit will become available on January 1, 2006. Until that benefit is implemented, beneficiaries will have access to Medicare-approved prescription drug discount cards that will save them 15% - 30% off the retail price of most brand name drugs, with even larger discounts on generic drugs. In addition, low-income beneficiaries will receive $600 this year and next year to help them purchase their medicines.

• Opened or Expanded Community Health Centers. Access to health care has been extended to 3 million additional Americans -- part of the President's five-year plan to fund 1,200 new or expanded sites to serve an additional 6.1 million people. Today there are more than 600 new or expanded health centers delivering preventive and primary care to patients in medically underserved communities across America.

• Strengthened Medicaid and SCHIP. HHS helped states develop new approaches to expanding coverage and avoiding reductions in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs. HHS-approved waivers and state plan amendments have expanded eligibility to more than 2.6 million people and improved benefits for more than 8 million people since 2001.

• Provided a Health Insurance Tax Credit. The trade bill provides a tax credit to help workers who lose their jobs due to international trade obtain health insurance coverage. The tax credit has helped thousands of these displaced workers get insurance coverage.
  Building On Our Success. President Bush believes more must be done to provide greater access to affordable health care. To achieve that goal, the President has proposed:
  Medical Liability Reform. The President proposes to address the skyrocketing medical malpractice premiums through national adoption of proven minimum standards to make the medical liability system more fair, predictable, and timely. A more fair, predictable and timely medical liability process speeds compensation to patients, reduces health care costs, and improves access and quality of health care.

• Association Health Plans (AHPs). The President supports legislation that enables small employers to pool together in order to offer health insurance options to their employees by giving small businesses the same purchasing power that large employers and unions have. CBO estimates that by 2008, 7.5 million people would obtain health insurance through AHPs and 600,000 would be newly insured.

• Refundable Tax Credit. The President proposes a refundable tax credit that will make health insurance more affordable to millions of Americans who do not have employer-provided insurance or public insurance. The Treasury Department estimates that the tax credit will extend insurance to 4.5 million Americans.

• HSA Deductibility. The President proposes to allow individuals with HSAs to deduct 100% of the premium for their catastrophic health care coverage from their taxes.

• Health Information Technology. The President proposes to use modern health information technology to achieve high-quality care, reduce preventable medical errors, and reduce costs. President Bush’s FY’05 Budget request doubles the amount of funding for demonstration projects for broader adoption of health IT systems in communities and states to $100 million. The President announced a goal that most Americans have personal electronic health records within the next ten years, and is working to make sure the federal government is fostering the adoption of these technologies

 

[Azadre]

You may not know this, but the elderly people I know can't afford their drugs and have to cut their pills. Bush hasn't helped them.

 

[North King]

Apparently it isn't helping, as health costs are rising constantly and seniors are having a harder time purchasing drugs under the new Medicare act.

Personally, I believe that as long as healthcare is a private enterprise, there will be no way out of higher costs. The only way is to make free, nationally-owned healthcare facilities, and have the government put more pressure on the drug companies, not the other way around. Also let people buy from Canada if they wish.

 

[EdwardTking]

There is a lot to be said for simply scrapping intellectual property rights on medicines.

It would mean that the taxpayer would have to fund more research through taxes, but it is doubtful whether that would be more expensive than subsidising medical drug company IPR based profits.

 

[Marla_Singer]

Ybbor, according to most of polls, Kerry is more popular than Bush among seniors. That's simply because a large part of them didn't like at all his policy (not only about Iraq but also about health care). I've read a good story about it in the Science Christian Monitor.