[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[June 27, 2007]
[Pages 810-812]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Discussion on Health Care
June 27, 2007

    Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here. I just finished a 
really interesting and good discussion with a group of distinguished 
health care experts. I appreciate you all taking your time. Mr. 
Secretary, thank you for being here as 
well.
    These men and women have different specialties, different 
backgrounds, and different ideas, but they all agree on the--an 
important fact: America's health care system is in need of serious 
reform. And I agree. The American people share that belief as well. In 
my conversations with Republicans and Democrats and businessowners and 
workers, I hear the same concerns: America's health care is too costly, 
it's too confusing, it leaves too many people uninsured.
    The fundamental question is, what should we do about it? On that 
question, our Nation has a clear choice. One option is to put more power 
in the hands of government by expanding Federal health care programs and 
empowering bureaucrats to make medical decisions. The other option is to 
put more power in the hands of individuals by making private health 
insurance more affordable and accessible and empowering people and their 
doctors to make the

[[Page 811]]

decisions that are right for them. That's the divide.
    Debate between these two options is now beginning to play out on 
Capitol Hill. Democrat leaders in Congress are considering a massive 
expansion of government health care through a program called SCHIP, 
which stands for State Children's Health Insurance Program. This program 
was designed to ensure that poor children without health insurance 
receive the medical care they need. I support SCHIP for that purpose. I 
think it makes sense to have a program to help poor children get the 
health insurance they need.
    My budget increases funding for the poor children in SCHIP. The 
problem is that Democrats want to expand SCHIP far beyond its original 
intent. If their proposal becomes law, SCHIP would expand its reach to 
include children from family that earn as much as $80,000 a year as well 
as some adults. This is a massive expansion of the program.
    And as a result, many of these people would give up the private 
health insurance they have now as they move to government health care. 
In fact, a recent study estimated that as many as half the children 
enrolling in SCHIP would drop their private health coverage, which is 
contrary to the program's original purpose.
    The Democrats' proposal is part of a larger strategy. At the same 
time that they try to expand SCHIP to older citizens, they are trying to 
expand Medicare to younger citizens. Their goal is to take incremental 
steps down the path to government-run health care for every American. 
It's the wrong path for our Nation. Government-run health care would 
deprive Americans of the choice and competition that comes from the 
private market. It would cause huge increases in government spending, 
which could lead to higher taxes. It would result in rationing, 
inefficiency, and long waiting lines. It would replace the doctor-
patient relationship with dependency on people here in Washington, DC.
    And there's a better way forward. We strongly believe that the SCHIP 
proposal put forward by some Democrats in Congress needs to be resisted. 
And here's what we believe. We believe there's a better alternative. 
Instead of expanding SCHIP beyond its purpose, we should return its 
focus to the children most in need. And instead of encouraging people to 
drop private coverage in favor of government plans, we should work to 
make basic private health insurance affordable for all Americans.
    My administration is pursuing this goal in a variety of innovative 
ways. We created health savings accounts which allow people to save, tax 
free, for routine medical expenses and help reduce the cost of private 
insurance. We're working to pass association health plans so that small 
businesses can insure their workers with private coverage at the same 
discounts that big businesses get. We're working to stop junk lawsuits 
to drive up private insurance premiums and good doctors out of practice.
    The best way to make private insurance more affordable, however, is 
to reform the Tax Code. Under current law, workers who are fortunate 
enough to get health insurance from their employers receive a tax 
benefit. But if you buy insurance on your own, you get no tax benefit.
    That's unfair, so I propose leveling the playing field. Under my 
plan, every family with private health coverage will receive a standard 
tax deduction of $15,000. That means families could deduct $15,000 from 
their income before they pay taxes, no matter where they get their 
health insurance. I'm pleased that many health care experts and Members 
of Congress share the objective for ending a bias in the Tax Code.
    Now, I recognize some of them believe a tax credit for health 
insurance would be a better way to do so. For example, some have 
proposed a tax credit of $5,000 for every family with private coverage. 
This would have a similar outcome as the standard deduction I proposed, 
and I'm open

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to further discussions about this--about these two options.
    Whichever plan we choose, reforming the Tax Code would have a major 
impact on American health care. That's what's important for our citizens 
to understand. There's a better way from expanding the government, and 
that is to reform the Tax Code. For example, just as tax incentives for 
homeownership have encouraged more Americans to buy homes through the 
private housing market, new incentives for health insurance would lead 
more Americans to buy coverage through the private health insurance 
market. And that's what we want. That ought to be the goal of this 
country.
    By reforming the Tax Code, it would help more than 100 million 
people who are now covered by employer-provided insurance reduce their 
tax bills. Those who now purchase health insurance on their own would 
save money on their taxes for the first time. And as many as 20 million 
others who have no health insurance would purchase basic coverage.
    While the Federal Government is working to reform the Tax Code, 
States should address other problems in our health care system. That's 
precisely what the Secretary is doing, 
working with our States. States should make reforms to ensure that their 
citizens have access to basic private health insurance. It's a dual 
responsibility. If we want a better system, the Federal Government has 
got a responsibility to reform, and so do States. As they do so, they 
should ensure that help is provided to those who can least afford 
coverage.
    We're at a decisive moment in the debate over health care. The 
choices we make now will set the direction of medical care in America 
for years to come. I'm going to continue to work with members of both 
parties to look past tired, old proposals that make bigger government 
programs the solution to every problem. I'm going to continue to push 
for new and innovative ways to help every American afford basic private 
health insurance. I will continue to put my trust in the good judgment 
of the American people, and I'll put my trust in the finest system of 
private medicine in the world.
    I want to thank you all for coming. Thanks for your interest. Thank 
you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:18 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. Participating in the discussion were Secretary of Health 
and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt; John B. Breaux, senior counsel, 
Patton Boggs; Stuart M. Butler, vice president of domestic and economic 
policy studies, Heritage Foundation; Len Nichols, director, health 
policy program, New America Foundation; C. Eugene Steuerle, senior 
fellow, Urban Institute; Grace-Marie Turner, president, Galen Institute; 
and Gail Wilensky, senior fellow, Project HOPE.