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REMARKS BY: TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: National Newspaper Association, Washington, D.C. DATE: March 22, 2001
It is good to be here with so many people from all across the country, and I know that there are some newspaper people from my home state of Wisconsin in the room today.
And I was pleased to see that the National Newspaper Association had the good sense to select a Wisconsinite . my good friend Diane Everson of the Edgerton Reporter . to lead your organization. Diane and I have a long history, and I am sure she is serving you well.
As your Wisconsin members can tell you, I truly loved being governor. I often called it the greatest job in the world. But let me tell you one thing: I would never have left if I didn't think President Bush couldn't come to Washington and truly make a difference.
President Bush has brought a fresh new feeling to our nation's capital, and that renewed spirit has been very much on display in the two months since he arrived in Washington. The president is bringing the nation together, and we are here to change the way Washington works.
Of course, that won't be easy. When we arrived in Washington, the president and I heard the warnings: You're not governors any more. This is a whole new ballgame. You'll never get anything done.
But let me tell you one thing: We're here to get things done. We will get things done.
I'm reminded of the Army Service Forces slogan, "The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer."
The president comes in with a governor's mindset that nothing is impossible. President Bush sees it as his responsibility to reach across the partisan divide to work with members of both parties. At the state level, our constituents expected us to work together develop creative solutions to difficult problems.
That's the way it should be, and that's the way it is - and will be - under the Bush administration
. This new responsibility brings a new opportunity.
President Bush's budget takes advantage of that opportunity by funding America's priorities, providing the largest debt reduction in history . $1 trillion over the next four years . and proposing fair tax relief to all Americans who pay income taxes.
The president's plan truly is a common-sense budget . one that families and businesses can identify with. Every day, each of us is faced with decisions that require us to live within our means:
How much can we afford to spend?
How much can we save?
How much of our debt can we pay off this month?
It is high time government asked those same questions.
And that's what President Bush did in putting together this budget, an aggressive agenda for his administration and for the Department of Health and Human Services.
So many of the issues and initiatives that are important to President Bush and to the American people will be funneled through our Department. It's a tremendous responsibility. With over 65,000 employees and a budget of over $475 billion, the Department of Health and Human Services is the largest agency in the federal government.
In fact, if HHS were a country, its budget would be the sixth largest in the world.
Among our most important responsibilities is improving the health care safety net for all Americans. Currently, there are 43 million uninsured Americans . and this is simply unacceptable.
In a nation as compassionate as ours, we need to find ways to provide access to affordable health care for all Americans. This isn't just responsible leadership or government. It's responsible citizenship. President Bush's budget helps low-income families receive health insurance by providing tax incentives. It also increases funding for Community Health Centers in cities across the country.
Community health centers do a wonderful job providing care to people all over America. Currently there are 3,200 centers that serve about 11 million patients. The president has offered to increase funding for these centers by $124 million this year.
This is just a first installment on a promise to communities. He wants to increase the number of centers by 1,200 and double the number of patients served by 2006. This is a tremendous goal, and an important one.
These centers provide care and medical guidance in a culturally sensitive atmosphere with physicians and nurses and other health care professionals who understand the needs of the community and understand the values of the people they treat.
We must always remember that we need to understand and protect the needs of patients. That's why the president this week introduced a set of principles for a bipartisan bill of rights that will put patients first.
The president's core principles are:
One, patient protections should apply to all Americans . and any federal law should preserve the good work of states that have already enacted patient protection laws.
Two, patient protections should be comprehensive, including access to emergency rooms and specialty care, and direct access to obstetricians, gynecologists, and pediatricians . as well as access to needed prescription drugs and health plan information.
Three, patients should have a rapid medical review process for denials of care . through both internal review and independent, binding external review.
Four, patient protection legislation should not be an invitation to litigation. Slow and costly lawsuits should be a last resort, as needless litigation drives up insurance premiums for all Americans.
And, finally, employers should be encouraged to offer health care.
Many employers would like to offer health care to their employees but are afraid to do so because they fear they will be taken to court for medical decisions they knew nothing about.
Employers should be shielded from multiple lawsuits in state courts that will drive up health costs and force them to take away coverage, and damages should be subject to reasonable costs.
Beyond providing coverage for the uninsured and protecting patients, perhaps the biggest challenge facing us at HHS is reforming Medicare - a program that is extremely popular with its beneficiaries but is in dire need of updating.
We need to protect Medicare for today's beneficiaries and strengthen it for future generations.
Prescription drugs provide the greatest opportunity to modernize and improve Medicare. When Medicare was created in 1965, prescription drugs were not the integral part of health care that they are today, and drug coverage therefore was not included as part of the benefit package.
But what worked 36 years ago does not work today. It is unreasonable for a 21st century health care program to exclude a prescription drug benefit. Today, Medicare beneficiaries are demanding . and rightly so . that a prescription drug benefit be added.
Modernizing and strengthening Medicare requires us to add a prescription drug benefit. They go hand-in- hand, because prescription drugs are such a major component of health care today - from prevention to treatment of illnesses.
President Bush also wants to significantly increase resources for the National Institutes of Health, which provides grants for many of the world's top scientists who are doing truly remarkable work.
NIH-backed scientists are conducting cutting-edge research all over the country into diseases that threaten the lives of many Americans, including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, among many others.
The potential that lies in these projects is why President Bush's plan to double resources for the NIH by 2003 . and increase funding by $2.75 billion this year . is so vital.
If we can find the cure for these diseases, we will cut health care costs in this country exponentially and . more importantly . improve the quality of life for millions of Americans.
The president's budget also creates a new $400 million program to provide states with grants to help parents obtain after-school child care with a high quality education focus. And it includes new grants for mentoring children of inmates to help our youth through the difficult time that their parents are imprisoned.
And finally, there is an issue that is very close to my heart. In the coming weeks, we will launch a national campaign to raise awareness of organ donation in this country. There is a waiting list of at least 75,000 individuals in America that need an organ, and it is time that is brought to the forefront of our health care initiatives.
One single donor can help 50 people. It is a great gift. And the best part is, that while the price of the gift is free, its value is priceless.
You in the media can do so much to raise awareness about this cause, and I hope that you will join the Department of Health and Human Services in this quest that literally means life or death for thousands of Americans each year.
As you can see, we will be busy. But it is a challenge the president and we at the Department of Health and Human Services enthusiastically embrace.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
I encourage each of you to watch closely and share with your readers: There is a new enthusiasm in Washington, one that will propel us to great heights by working together.
Thank you very much.