Reply #14: You mean like this?

[nolabels]

http://www.accuracy.org/2003/


Responses to Bush's 2003 "State of the Union" Address
(snip)
Instead, we must work toward a system in which all Americans have a good insurance policy, choose their own doctors, and seniors and low-income Americans receive the help they need.

Zuckerman argues that Bush is omitting a huge problem: "State cuts in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Programs. Medicaid provides health care for the poorest Americans and CHIP provides health insurance for children whose families earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid but not enough to afford health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation study, 49 states have planned or implemented Medicaid cuts in FY 2003, and 32 states are already on their second round of cuts. In order to reduce deficits, states are eliminating health care for some of the poor adults and children who used to be eligible for Medicaid, requiring patients to pay higher co-payments, or reducing the reimbursements made to doctors, hospitals, or nursing homes that care for the needy. When payments to doctors or hospitals are reduced, it becomes even harder for patients to find doctors or hospitals that will treat them. When payments to nursing homes are reduced, the quality of care is harmed, and very vulnerable elderly patients will die."

Instead of bureaucrats and trial lawyers and HMOs, we must put doctors and nurses and patients back in charge of American medicine.

Ida Hellander, executive director of Physicians for a National Health Program: "Bush says that we do not want a national health program that 'rations care' and instead want one where they can 'choose their doctors,' but a national health insurance would allow people their free choice of doctors which is currently very constricted by insurance plans. Of course, we currently have rationing by ability to pay -- with 42 million uninsured, and medical bills the most frequent cause of bankruptcy after loss of job. We already pay more in health care taxes than any other country in the world except Switzerland -- this year health care costs will exceed $6,000 per person. With our level of spending we could have the best heath care in the world -- for all -- if we eliminated the insurance middleman. The cost of paperwork exceeds $300 billion a year - at least half of which could be saved with a simplified national health program."
(snip)