[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 9 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[Pages 209-210]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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

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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 his 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.