For Immediate Release
Office of the Press
Secretary
July 18, 2007
President
Bush Participates in Roundtable on Health Care
Man and Machine,
Inc.
Landover, Maryland
In Focus:
Health Care
In Focus:
Small Business
11:27 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Today I've had a really good discussion about health care and
health care problems with three business owners and employees of the small
business with Secretary Leavitt and Mark McClellan and Administrator Preston. I
heard a common complaint, that health care is -- costs are too high; that small
business owners feel very pinched by these high costs; that they don't like the
idea of having to make the decision between providing health care for their
employees and not expanding their businesses.
And the fundamental question, given these
frustrations, is what do we do about it as a nation. There is an interesting
debate taking place in Congress, and there is a philosophical divide. Some in
Congress believe the best solution to solving the frustrations of uninsured and
high costs for small businesses is to expand the role of government. I have a
different point of view. I believe the best way to deal with the frustrations of
the high cost of health care and uninsured is to change the tax code, is to make
health care in the private sector more affordable and more available.
The debate in Congress is now centering around what's called S-CHIP, which is
the Children's Health Care Insurance Program. It was a program initially
designed to help poor families afford health care for their children. I support
that concept. As a matter of fact, the budget I submitted funds health care for
poor children. Members of Congress have decided, however, to expand the program
to include, in some cases, up to families earning $80,000 a year -- which would
cause people to drop their private insurance in order to be involved with a
government insurance plan.
And when you couple that with the idea that some have suggested of reducing
the age at which you can be eligible for Medicare, you're beginning to get a
sense of a strategy to grow the government's role in the provision of health
care. I believe government cannot provide affordable health care. I believe it
would cause -- it would cause the quality of care to diminish. I believe there
would be lines and rationing over time. If Congress continues to insist upon
expanding health care through the S-CHIP program -- which, by the way, would
entail a huge tax increase for the American people -- I'll veto the bill.
Our proposal is a strategy that says to small business owners and individuals
we want you, one, to be in charge of your health care system -- health care
decisions; and, two, we believe you're discriminated against in the tax code. If
you work for a large company, you get a tax break on your health care. If you
work for a small business and/or you're in the individual market, you don't get
the same tax break. And that's unfair and it's not right. And, therefore, I have
proposed to the United States Congress that we have a $15,000 deductible for
families and a $7,500 deductible for individuals, all aimed at encouraging
people to be able to afford insurance and aimed at the encouragement of the
development of an individual market.
I believe strongly that small businesses
ought to be afforded the chance to purchase health care across jurisdictional
boundaries. Mike owns a small restaurant, he ought to be able to pool risk with
restaurants in Texas or California or anywhere else, so he can better afford
insurance. I want patients making decisions, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
I want the system to benefit the individual, the small business owner, not large
insurance companies.
And I really do believe that government involvement in health care will lead
to less quality care and rationing over time. And, therefore, we proposed a
plan. I urge the Congress to work with us on making the tax code fair. I know
there are different ideas as to whether or not there ought to be a $15,000
deductible or a credit. I'm open-minded, I'm willing to listen. But what I'm not
willing to listen to is a direct expansion of the federal role in providing -- a
massive expansion of the federal role in providing health care for individuals
across the country.
Thank you all for having me. Cliff, thank you; you have a very interesting
company here. I'm proud to be with small business owners. I understand the role
of small businesses in our society. We have worked to reduce taxes on small
businesses because we want you to grow. And the fact that you are growing across
the country collectively is one reason why our economy is so strong. And this
economy is doing well. The unemployment rate is 4.5 percent. Small businesses
are growing. People are working. Stock market is up. Inflation is down. And
we're going to keep it that way. One way you keep it that way is to have good
health care policy emanating out of Washington, and another is to keep taxes
low. And that's what we're going to do. So thank you all.
END 11:32 A.M. EDT
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