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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (7009)	10/5/1999 12:27:00 PM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Now that you acknowledge that medical care is available to everyone in this country regardless of income, why don't you comment on your president's "efforts" to reform costs.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (7009)	10/5/1999 12:29:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 769670

I do not know the details much better, unfortunately, although there are numerous charities for chronic conditions. I would agree this far: the manner in which insurance is offered is inadequate to the range of needs. I think that there should be policies available with $1000 and $3000 deductibles, so that people have hospitalization insurance, or at least insurance against catastrophic illness, and otherwise let them pay for their medical expenses the way they would anything else. With such large deductibles, the package could be a fraction of current costs, and it would also go some way towards introducing greater market discipline. A variation on this plan would involve MRAs, allowing personal and/or workplace contributions to fund the deductibles with pre-tax income, with low cost hospitalization....

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (7009)	10/5/1999 12:38:00 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

We're all subsidizing the largest consumer, the federal government, at each step of the way first. We pay the Medicare/Medicaid taxes. Many people who receive Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) essentially are rebated these taxes. Next, we pay higher insurance premiums since the federal government shifts costs onto other private payors through regulations that mandate that they do so. Thirdly, we pay for higher costs in the procedures so these impact on deductibles and medical 'savings' accounts. The free market in health care has long ago been distorted. Education is another area where costs are out of control.