    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [February 24, 2007]
    [Pages 186-188]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    February 24, 2007

        Good morning. This week, I traveled to a hospital in Chattanooga,
    Tennessee, where I visited with doctors and health care experts. We
    discussed an urgent priority for our Nation: how we can make health care
    coverage more affordable and accessible for all Americans.
        This week, the Department of Health and Human Services released a
    study that showed why we must act now to reform our health care system.
    The study forecast that our Nation's health care spending will almost
    double by the year 2016. If this happens, health care spending will
    account for nearly one out of every $5 spent in our economy. The study
    forecast that the Government's share of these costs will rise as well.
    Unless the system is reformed, within a decade taxpayers will be
    shouldering nearly half of all health care spending in our Nation.
        There's also some encouraging news in this study. It provides fresh
    evidence that the Medicare prescription drug benefit we enacted is
    working to help get seniors the drugs they need. Millions of seniors are
    filling more prescriptions because they now have coverage, yet overall
    national spending on prescription drugs is lower than it would have been
    without this program. This is because we set up a system where private
    drug plans must compete for the business of Medicare beneficiaries. This
    competition is delivering better prices for seniors and good results for
    taxpayers. We need to maintain the gains we made by keeping competition
    in Medicare and by opposing

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    any effort that would put the Federal Government in charge of
    negotiating and setting drug prices.
        We should also apply the same market-based principles to other parts
    of our health system. Today, we have a big problem with our Tax Code: If
    you buy health insurance on your own, you do not get the same tax
    advantages as people who get their health insurance through their jobs.
    When it comes to health care, everyone should get the same tax breaks.
        So I've proposed a standard tax deduction for health insurance that
    would be like the standard deduction for dependents. This commonsense
    solution will level the playing field for all Americans, whether you get
    your health insurance through your job or on your own.
        One person who would benefit from this plan is Danny
    Jennings, a father of two who does not have
    health insurance for his family. I met Danny earlier this week. Under my
    plan, Danny would save about $4,500 on his taxes, and these tax savings
    would put basic coverage within the reach of his family.
        Now imagine if this standard tax deduction were already in place for
    people like Danny, and some politician
    suggested taking it away. Critics would say that the politician was
    giving an unfair advantage to people who work for big businesses that
    provide insurance and harming millions of working families who have to
    buy their own coverage. The critics would be right.
        My proposal would provide the same deduction for all Americans who
    buy health insurance, whether they get it through their job or on their
    own. That is fair, and it's the right thing to do.
        Another way we can reform our health care system is to support
    Governors who are coming up with innovative plans to help their citizens
    get health coverage. These Governors know their people, and they know
    their needs. As a former Governor, I believe the Federal Government
    ought to help, not hinder our States, as they innovate. So I have
    proposed the Affordable Choices grants initiative. Under my proposal,
    States that make basic private health insurance available to all their
    citizens would receive Federal funds to help them provide this coverage
    to the poor and the sick. By taking existing Federal funds and turning
    them into Affordable Choices grants, we will give America's Governors
    more money and more flexibility, so they can help provide private health
    insurance for those who need it most.
        America has the best health care system in the world, because it
    puts doctors and patients in charge, encourages new technologies, and
    finds new ways to improve quality. By giving our States more flexibility
    and making our Tax Code fairer, we can reform our health care system and
    restrain costs. And by implementing these reforms now, we can help
    ensure every American has a future with better choices, better care, and
    greater hope for a healthy tomorrow.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on February 23 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February
    24. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on February 23, but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. In the address, the President referred to Danny Jennings,
    manager, Tennessee Valley Nursery. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.

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