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"Working Together for America's Health Care Reform"Thank you all for coming today. I'm especially pleased to know that some of my friends from Wisconsin's Cobalt Corporation are here, including Cobalt's President, my good friend Steve Bablitch, who will be speaking to you later in the conference. And Strong Capital Management is also represented, which I'm glad to see. One of the New York City area's most famous sons is also someone we think very highly of in Wisconsin. His name was Vince Lombardi, and he earned an enduring place in the history of football for his legendary coaching of the Green Bay Packers. Coach Lombardi said something that has a direct bearing on what you're discussing at this conference and that I want to talk with you about today. In his words, "Inches make a champion." Put another way, it isn't always the dramatic gesture or risky gamble that wins a game or reaches a goal. It's the slow, gradual but consistent march forward that enables a team, a company or a country to enjoy progress and prosperity - and, in the context of health care, longer and healthier lives. I know that many of you here today are rightly concerned with the ability of the firms you represent to continue growing in the current economic climate. You are concerned with prescription drugs … the viability of the Medicare system, which is largely supported through the private sector … and a federal regulatory apparatus that sometimes seems nothing short of incomprehensible. Let me spend some time talking with you about these issues and then open up the floor for questions. First, let me assure you that the President and his senior economic team are watching the economy closely. President Bush is very mindful of the challenges you face during a time of economic slowdown, but he is confident that as the tax reductions he enacted last year continue to take effect and as non-inflationary productivity continues to rise, we will see a significant upswing in our growth rate in coming months. The Bush Administration believes that one of the keys to strengthening the economy is a stronger health care system. But clearly, our system of health care delivery is not working as well as it should. The problem is neither with caregivers nor with the quality of care itself. To the contrary, America has the finest health care professionals and the finest caliber of medical treatment of any nation … at any time … in history. The problem is the means by which care is delivered or paid for. Our health care delivery system has simply not matured at the same pace as the technologies and treatments now available. My friends, we have to fundamentally change the current health care delivery system in our country. The rules, regulations and restrictions that make obtaining good health care difficult, if not impossible, have to be reviewed carefully and, when necessary, discarded. The President and I are committed to preserving the best of America's medical system - the research and development that produces the drugs and treatments and procedures that are promoting longer, better lives for so many people. Rather, I'm thinking of transformation in the delivery of care. And we're already taking some significant steps. We've launched a 27-member commission - my Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform, headed by Dr. Doug Wood of the Mayo Clinic - whose job is to develop a plan for comprehensive regulatory reform. When we flood doctors and hospitals with excessive paperwork, patients suffer the consequences. The commission is especially focused on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration, which have the heaviest regulatory burdens. We're also pushing ahead with our comprehensive effort to modernize and improve Medicare. We're committed to providing prescription drug coverage as part of Medicare … but that can only happen if the whole system is modernized. It can't be a new entitlement that's just added on like a tail on a kite. The President and I believe that all seniors should have the option of a subsidized prescription drug benefit as part of modernized Medicare. Everyone benefits from new drugs that are being developed through miracles of science, and Medicare beneficiaries should and must have greater access to lifesaving therapies. But it's also clear that if we add a drug benefit without comprehensive modernization of the system, we will only deepen the financial crisis Medicare faces in coming years. That's why the President's plan to improve and modernize Medicare touches on every aspect of the Medicare system. And just last week, we announced a new FDA proposed regulation that would speed the availability of generic drugs and reduce costs for consumers. The proposed rule would help reduce the cost of drugs by eliminating the current practice that allows manufacturers to repeatedly obtain 30-month stays in order to block the approval of generic versions of their drugs. These stays delay generic competition, often while the brand-name company pursues litigation against the generic manufacturers trying to get lower-cost alternatives on the market. This proposed rule change would bring relief from the high prices that American consumers frequently pay for prescription drugs. This proposal would not only move generic drugs to market more quickly, but could save consumers approximately $3.5 billion dollars every year. And there's another area of reform that must - I repeat, must - be among the highest priorities we can develop: malpractice reform. America is experiencing a medical malpractice insurance coverage crisis that is increasing the cost of health care, decreasing access to doctors and hospitals for many patients and lowering the overall quality of care provided to patients. Medical malpractice premiums have skyrocketed in recent years. The major cause of increased premiums is the growing size of malpractice judgments and the costs of litigation. The average jury award has tripled since 1994 to a whopping $3.5 million. In 2001, insurers paid $1.40 in claims for every dollar in premiums. Ironically, studies indicate that as little as 25 percent of professional liability insurance premiums are returned to those who have been injured by medical error. And, on average, patients have to wait almost five years before receiving any compensation. As doctors find themselves without malpractice coverage, they are moving their practices or closing them altogether. For example, most OB/GYNs in Las Vegas are refusing to take on new patients. This means that pregnant women cannot get the essential, lifesaving prenatal care they need. Fear of liability results in the practice of defensive medicine, which further increases health care costs perhaps by as much as $50 billion per year. Seventy-five percent of physicians admit that fear of litigation led them to order more tests and refer more patients to specialists than they otherwise would. Because federal government health programs cover about 50 percent of Americans, rising malpractice costs as a part of healthcare expenses is a matter of great federal interest. The direct cost to the federal government of increasing malpractice costs is $6 billion per year, which includes. The 1,000 percent - that's 1,000 percent - increase in liability costs for nursing homes since 1990 is financed largely through Medicaid and Medicare. We're developing a comprehensive medical malpractice reform proposal that will serve two goals: First, to enhance health care quality by encouraging early recognition of medical errors and targeting prompt compensation to those who have been truly injured by medical errors … and second, to reduce excessive non-economic damages awards unconnected to remedying real errors. So, we're moving forward across abroad front - not in some frantic effort that might be well-intended but will only have less than constructive results, but in a careful, systematic and comprehensive way. Or, as Vince Lombardi might say, "by inches." Along with Vince Lombardi, one of the most beloved and respected New York sports figures of all time was a man named Lou Gehrig. He was known as the "Iron Horse" for playing in 2,130 consecutive games, a record broken by Cal Ripken only a few years ago. Lou Gehrig is also remembered for the illness that took his life and which today bears his name - A-L-S, or Lou Gehrig's disease. In his famous speech at Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig said, "I might have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for." "An awful lot to live for." That's true of all of us. And that's why we refuse to surrender to disease, mental illness, disabling injuries or birth defects. We will not accept their tyranny over the lives of hurting people. My friends, you serve in the private sector, I in the public. But we are here today because we know that in our time, greater strides than ever before can and must be made. We know that we are on the verge of a tremendous new era in medicine, and working together, we can make longer and healthier lives possible for untold millions of men, women and children around the globe. This is a noble mission and a profound challenge. And it is to that end that President Bush and I are so very pleased to work as your partners as we seek to fulfill this vital calling in our time. May God bless you all. Thank you again so very much. Last Revised: November 4, 2002 |
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