    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [January 24, 2004]
    [Pages 129-130]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 24, 2004

        Good morning. In my State of the Union Address, I spoke of a great
    priority for our Nation, to confront the rising cost of health care and
    make sure that more of our citizens can afford the health care they
    need. Health care costs are rising too fast for many families and
    businesses. It is time to address this problem directly, with five clear
    steps that Congress can take this year.

        First, we can help control rising health care costs by cutting down
    on frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. When health care
    providers are responsible for injuries, they should be accountable. Yet
    no one was ever healed by a junk or frivolous lawsuit.

        This week, I will travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, to visit Baptist
    Health Medical Center. For Baptist and other hospitals across the
    Nation, frivolous lawsuits have dramatically increased the cost of
    medical liability premiums. These costs are passed on to patients in
    higher bills. These costs are driving doctors from important work, such
    as delivering babies. And these costs are driving some doctors out of
    medicine entirely.

        In order to protect the doctor-patient relationship, Congress should
    pass medical liability reform that removes the threat of frivolous
    lawsuits and the needless costs they impose on our health care system.

        Second, we should help more small businesses afford health insurance
    for their workers by allowing these firms to band together and negotiate
    for lower insurance rates. These association health plans give small
    employers the same bargaining power as big companies, making it easier
    for them to provide employee health coverage. The House has passed a
    bill supporting these health plans, and the Senate needs to act.

        Third, Congress should give lower income Americans refundable tax
    credits to help them purchase health insurance. These tax credits would
    total up to $1,000 for individuals and $3,000 for families. For many
    Americans lacking health insurance, these credits would make the
    difference between affording insurance and going without.

        Fourth, we should help Americans with their health care costs by
    encouraging the use of health savings accounts. Congress passed these
    accounts last year in the Medicare bill, allowing people to save money
    for future medical expenses tax-free.

    [[Page 130]]

    People who make use of health savings accounts also will buy high-
    deductible insurance policies to protect them against catastrophic
    medical costs like hospitalization or major surgery. This year, I am
    urging Congress to make those premiums 100-percent tax deductible. This
    new deduction would strengthen health savings accounts and make health
    insurance more affordable for millions of Americans not covered through
    their workplace.
        And fifth, we can control health care costs and improve care by
    moving American medicine into the information age. My budget for the
    coming year proposes doubling to $100 million the money we spend on
    projects that use promising health information technology. This would
    encourage the replacement of handwritten charts and scattered medical
    files with a unified system of computerized records. By taking this
    action, we would improve care and help prevent dangerous medical errors,
    saving both lives and money.
        In all these measures, we are upholding the basic principle that
    private health care and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship
    make America's health care the best in the world. And with the help of
    Congress, this year we will strengthen our private system of care by
    addressing the rising cost of health care and helping more Americans
    afford health coverage.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 9:20 a.m. on January 23 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 24. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 23 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.