PRESIDENT BUSH: Thanks for the warm welcome. It's good to be back
in the Windy City. I'll try not to be too windy. (Laughter.)
The last time I was here, which was in January, I talked about big
objectives of my administration and big responsibilities we share, and
I talked about the need to continue to fight the war on terror. I
reminded our citizens that this country would uphold the just demands
of the world and confront the real threat posed to the free world by
Saddam Hussein. Since I was here, thanks to the bravery of our
military, and to friends and allies, the regime of Saddam Hussein is no
more. The world is peaceful and free. (Applause.) Thanks to their
bravery and their sacrifice, the world is more peaceful, America is
more secure, and the Iraqi people are now free. (Applause.)
We have a lot more work to do in Iraq and we'll stay the course.
And we've got a lot more work to do to make sure our country is secure,
because the war on terror goes on. There are still terrorist networks
which hate America because of what we love. They hate us because we
love our freedoms. And since we're not going to change -- (laughter)
-- we're going to have to deal with them. (Applause.) We will be
strong, we'll be diligent, and we will win. (Applause.)
I also talked about economic security when I was here last. I laid
out a plan, what I called a growth in jobs plan, that recognized that
so long as any of our fellow citizens are looking for work, that we've
got to be concerned about the fact they can't find a job. We need a --
I reminded the country that we needed to grow our economy so people
could find work.
The crux of the plan I laid out said that if a person has more
money in their pocket, they're likely to demand an additional good or a
service. In our type of economy, when you demand a good or a service,
somebody is going to produce the good or a service. And when somebody
produces that good or a service, it's more likely a fellow citizen will
find work. And the Congress acted, and they passed substantial tax
relief, which will give more Americans their own money. (Applause.)
Today I've returned to Chicago to discuss another issue relating to
our security, and that's the need for us to improve the health security
of the American citizens. (Applause.) We have an unprecedented
opportunity to give America's seniors an up-to-date Medicare system
that includes more choices and better benefits like prescription drug
coverage. (Applause.)
And for the sake of health care for all Americans, we must reform
the medical liability system. (Applause.) For years, leaders of both
political parties have talked about these reforms. Now is the time to
get the job done. (Applause.)
I am very grateful for the Illinois State Medical Society for
hosting me today. This distinguished organization was founded in 1840
in Springfield, the same time that Abraham Lincoln was practicing law
in that city on North 5th Street. Lincoln was a lawyer who believed in
discouraging unnecessary litigation. (Applause.)
I want to thank Dr. Ron Ruecker for his hospitality and
introduction. I want to thank Tommy Thompson. Tommy used to be in
this neighborhood. (Laughter.) But he's doing a fantastic job as our
Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Applause.) When we talk
about tort reform in this administration, Tommy is the point man up on
Capitol Hill, working hard with senators and members of the United
States Congress -- some of whom traveled with us today.
Senator Peter Fitzgerald is with us today, and I want to thank the
Senator for joining us. (Applause.) Congressmen Bobby Rush and Luis
Gutierrez, Rahm Emanuel, Danny Davis, Phil Crane, Mark Kirk and
Congresswoman Judy Biggert also traveled, and I want to thank the
members of Congress for your interest and for joining us. (Applause.)
We have just had a roundtable discussion with fellow citizens --
some docs, some people on Medicare. I want to thank them for joining
me today and sharing their stories and their concerns about the future
of health care in our country.
One thing is for certain about health care in our country, is that
we've got the best health care system in the world, and we need to keep
it that way. (Applause.) We've got great docs in America.
(Applause.) We're really good at research. We're developing
technologies and medicines which are extending lives not only in our
country, but all across the world.
To make sure we've got a good health care system today and
tomorrow, we've got to make sure that no policy of the federal
government will undermine the system of private care in America.
(Applause.) As folks who deliver that care, you know that we've got
challenges in our system. We must address the challenges while not
undermining the strengths of American medicine.
There are some hardworking folks in our country who do not qualify
for Medicaid and cannot afford to buy health insurance. So I sent a
proposal to Congress for refundable tax credits to help low-income
people purchase their own insurance. There are too many needy
Americans who use emergency rooms as their main source of health care.
So I worked with Congress, and I want to thank Congress for increased
funding, for more community and migrant health care centers all across
America.
And we've got another challenge that we're now dealing with in
America, and that's Medicare. It's an essential commitment of this
government; yet the system is not keeping pace. The system is not
adjusting to the advances of modern medicine. This year we have an
opportunity to seize and strengthen and -- to strengthen and improve
Medicare for the sake of all our seniors. I'm here to urge Congress
not to miss the opportunity. I'm here to ask for your help in making
sure that Congress does not miss the opportunity. (Applause.)
Four decades -- over four decades, the government has made some
improvements in Medicare. Notice I said, "the government" has made
improvements in Medicare. Therein lies part of the problem.
(Laughter.) We've expanded the program to cover persons with
disabilities, cover kidney dialysis, to cover more home-based services
to the bed-ridden, to cover some cancer screenings and vaccines. Yet,
health care moves faster than bureaucracy. Health care is being
transformed by drug therapies and active prevention. These are an
increasingly important part of how docs treat their patients. Yet
seniors with Medicare must pay for those treatments out of their own
pocket, or go without them.
Medicine is changing; Medicare is not. As many as one-third of
seniors on Medicare have no drug coverage at all. It's about 900,000
-- 90,000 seniors in Chicago without any drug coverage. Because seniors
don't have drug coverage for prescription drugs and preventative care,
we are creating a health care system that is more expensive and less
effective. Let me give you two examples.
Prolonged hospital stays for ulcers can cost up to $28,000, which
Medicare pays. But Medicare does not pay the annual bill of $500 for
drugs that can eliminate the cause of most ulcers. (Applause.)
Medicare would pay many of the costs to treat a serious stroke,
including bills from the hospital and rehab center, doctors, home
health aides and out-patient care. And those costs can total upwards
of $100,000. Medicare will not pay for a year's worth of treatment
with blood-thinning drugs that can prevent stroke, drugs which cost
less than $1,000.
Time and time again, Medicare's failure to pay for drugs means our
seniors risk serious illnesses, disease and injuries, all of which
Medicare would pay to treat after the fact. America's seniors deserve
a modern system of health care. (Applause.) Instead of a bureaucracy
that covers the latest medical treatments, slowly and sporadically.
Our seniors should have choices under Medicare, so that affordable
health care plans compete for their business and, at the same time,
give them the coverage they need.
This principle of choice, of trusting people to make their own
health care decisions, is behind the health plan enjoyed by every
person on the federal payroll -- including every member of Congress.
All federal employees get to choose their health care plan. Health
plans compete for their business by offering good services and better
choices at lower costs. It seems logical to me that if members of
Congress and staffs get good choices and good service, so should the
seniors of America. (Applause.)
Here are the principles of the plan that I have submitted to
Congress. Seniors who want to stay in the current Medicare system
should have that option plus a prescription drug benefit. (Applause.)
Seniors who want enhanced benefits -- such as more coverage for
preventative care and other services -- should have that choice, as
well. Seniors who like managed care plans should have that option, as
well. And all low-income seniors should receive extra help, so that
all seniors will have the ability to choose a Medicare option that
includes a prescription drug benefit. (Applause.)
That's what we discussed at our roundtable, the need for seniors to
have a prescription drug benefit. Dan and Barbara Lee are with us
today. He has leukemia, which is now under control, but he's worried
about the future. He has affordable prescription drug coverage through
a previous employer, but he knows he's eventually going to lose it.
And then he will have a monthly prescription drug bill of more than
$300. And the current Medicare system will not help him. Dan
describes Medicare this way: "There isn't a lot of choice, and I think
people ought to have choice." Congress needs to listen to Dan.
(Applause.)
We also heard from Gene Preston. He and his wife, Dorothy, live on
a tight budget and do not have prescription drug coverage. To the
Prestons, a full drug benefit would help a lot because they now spend
$300 a month on drugs. He says, "Everything is going up in price.
Before we could save a couple of bucks at the end of the month. But
right now, we're just holding even, if not going below even." Gene
says, it's important to have good health care coverage, and he's
right. And that's exactly what the plan I submitted to Congress will
provide to Gene and his wife, and a lot of seniors around our country
that need help.
The need for Medicare reform is absolutely clear to me. And the
opportunity for Medicare reform is real. We've got a chance to get it
done. We have set aside the necessary resources to make reform work.
A budget I proposed, which Congress passed, provides $400 billion
additional dollars to modernize Medicare and provide a prescription
drug benefit -- $400 billion.
We've also got a growing consensus in both Houses of Congress, and
in both political parties, a consensus that our seniors need more
choices and better benefits including prescription drugs. And the time
is right to make progress.
The House of Representatives will take up this issue in the coming
weeks, under the leadership of a man from Illinois, a guy who I've got
a lot of respect from, Speaker Denny Hastert. (Applause.) And I
appreciate the leadership of Chairman Bill Thomas, and Chairman Billy
Tauzin. And in the Senate, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
and Democrat Senator Max Baucus of Montana are working closely to add
momentum for Medicare reform. With the right spirit, I am confident
that both the House and the Senate can act on historic Medicare
improvements before the 4th of July recess. (Applause.)
In a strengthened and modernized Medicare system, every senior in
America would enjoy better benefits than they have today, no matter
what plan they choose. And all seniors would continue to benefit from
the most fundamental choice of all, the ability to choose your own
doctor. (Applause.)
It is that relationship between patient and doctor which is the
significant strength of American health care. Everything we do to
improve Medicare should honor this relationship. And that relationship
is being hurt by junk lawsuits filed against many doctors.
(Applause.) It is important for our fellow citizens to understand the
effects of junk lawsuits. It means that doctors and their insurance
companies must fight every single case, regardless of how frivolous.
And, therefore, liability premiums go up. And that's got two effects.
One, it causes price to patients to go up, and in some cases, drives
docs out of business. (Applause.)
If one of the goals of health care is to have affordable and
available health care, it makes no sense to have a system because of
junk lawsuits which drives up the costs, and in many states makes
health care less available. As well, it's important for our fellow
citizens to understand that because of the threat of lawsuit, docs
practice defensive medicine -- ordering more tests, doing more
procedures than are necessary in order to avoid a lawsuit, or in order
to prepare a case for a potential lawsuit. And that causes costs to go
up in America, as well. Both higher premiums and defensive medicine
drives up the cost to patients all across America, in every state. And
both are hurting health care in this country and we need to do
something about it now. (Applause.)
Dr. Andrew Roth is with us today. Our citizens must listen to the
story of Andrew Roth because it's a -- unfortunately, it's a typical
story all around America. He went to high school at Hinsdale Central
High. He stayed in Chicago for college and medical school. He and his
practice deliver about 200 babies a year. His insurance premiums are
going up 50 percent next month, to $170,000. And next January, he
expects another 40-percent increase.
The interesting thing about his career is that he has never spent a
day in court as a defendant in a liability case, and he has never
settled a case. But because this state has no medical liability
reform, the cost of him staying as a baby doc is getting out of sight.
And he is now considering leaving this vital state. (Applause.) And
that hurts the patients in this state. And it must hurt him, as well.
He was raised here, educated here, loves the Cubs -- (laughter and
applause.) And, yet, a flawed system is not only making it hard for
him to practice medicine, it's making it hard for him to stay in an
area he loves. He said, "We're all at the breaking point. Liability
premiums are keeping us from doing what we love, or forcing us to leave
our homes."
We have got a problem in America that we must deal with. And this
is not only a local problem, but because lawsuits and premium increases
and preventative medicine drive up the cost in Medicaid and Medicare
and veterans' health benefits, medical liability is a national issue
that requires a national solution. (Applause.)
Every person with a legitimate claim deserves a day in court. Junk
lawsuits make it hard to get into court. And bad doctors must be held
to account. I'm confident that's what the Illinois Medical Society
believes, as well. (Applause.) Yet, for the sake of affordable and
available health care, we need a cap on non-economic damages of
$250,000. (Applause.) Punitive damages should be limited to reasonable
limits.
This health care system needs liability reform now. (Applause.)
No one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. (Applause.) This
past March, the House of Representatives passed medical liability
reform. (Applause.) The Senate has not acted. I urge all of you to
talk to your senators. I know one of them is okay. (Applause.)
You can make a difference. Not only should the people of Illinois
who care about medical liability reform get involved, people all over
this country, if you want a health care system that is available and
affordable, need to get involved. You need to let your senators know
how you feel on this key issue. (Applause.) I'll be right there with
you getting involved. (Applause.) I want to sign this into law. I
want to sign Medicare reform into law, and I want to sign medical
liability reform into law, so that we can look the American people in
the eye and say, we have done our job. We saw a problem and we fixed
it. (Applause.)
There are challenges in the health care system. We understand that
in Washington. And we can answer those challenges with practical,
sensible, compassionate reforms. That is the charge before us, and
that is the charge we must keep on behalf of the American people.
May God bless your work, and may God continue to bless America.
(Applause.)