Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 28, 1993 TAG: 9310280141
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"That is the bill I want to sign, that is my bottom line," Clinton said. "I will not support or sign a bill that does not meet that criteria."
In setting those two principles - comprehensive benefits and universal coverage - as his requirements, Clinton put himself in firm opposition to several alternative plans that have been introduced on Capitol Hill by conservative Republicans and some moderate Democrats. Some of those plans would provide coverage against only catastrophic illnesses, rather than the comprehensive benefit package Clinton seeks. Other alternatives aim at changing the insurance market to make coverage more affordable but would not guarantee coverage for all.
Appearing animated and energized, Clinton pounded the lectern in front of him as he reminded the audience gathered in the Capitol's Statuary Hall of the huge toll that rising health care costs have taken on the federal budget and on the health of the U.S. economy. His plan, he insisted, should be judged not against an ideal standard but against the problems of the current system.
"None of us could devise a system more complex, more burdensome, more administratively costly than the one we have now," Clinton said. "Let us all judge ourselves against, after all, what it is we are attempting to change."
As he spoke, Clinton displayed a book the White House has prepared to explain the plan to Americans. In an apparent first, White House officials made the text available both as a 136-page paperback and on a computer disk. Clinton strategists hope to distribute the book widely.
As administration officials made clear, the scope of their proposal is vast. Next year, the government estimates, the nation as a whole - will spend roughly $998 billion on health care.
"Without reform, in the year 2000, we'll spend $1.613 trillion," Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman said.
Clinton hopes to avoid that jump in expenditures by holding down costs through "managed competition," a system designed to reduce administrative expenses and channel more Americans into health maintenance organizations and other managed systems subject to budgetary controls. Administration number-crunchers project that by the end of the decade, health care reform will begin to reduce the nation's total spending.
"Over the long term, business will spend less with reform than it would without," Altman said.
But the administration is expecting a lot from its managed competition model, and even top White House officials admit they cannot be sure the plans will work as designed. "We think we have a good case," said deputy budget director Alice Rivlin. "But one can't be sure of that."
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by CNB