Bush Looks at New Health Care Initiative, Advisers Say

New York Times ^ | January 17, 2004 | ELISABETH BUMILLER and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

[putupon]

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 — President Bush is expected to propose a health care initiative in his State of the Union address to help the uninsured and the underinsured, White House advisers said on Friday.

It was unclear how much the initiative, to be announced in the address on Tuesday, would cost at a time when Mr. Bush is under pressure because of a growing budget deficit. But White House officials have made clear that they do not want to cede the politically potent issue of health care to the Democratic presidential candidates, all of whom have made health care a centerpiece of their campaigns.

"One of the main drivers of a significant section of the uninsured in America is because of the rising costs of health care," a senior administration official said Friday in a briefing to reporters. "And those can be addressed from several different ways, which he'll talk about on Tuesday."

Mr. Bush has already proposed an $89 billion, 10-year package of tax credits for the uninsured, which is many times less than the health plans of the Democrats.

In a pre-emptive critique of Mr. Bush's speech, the two leading Democrats in Congress delivered their own assessment of the condition of the nation on Friday, including criticism of what one of them, Senator Tom Daschle, called a growing gap in health care.

"The American people have a right to ask, `Mr. President, how do you intend to make health care more affordable, and more available?' " Mr. Daschle, of South Dakota, said in a speech at the National Press Club.

[jimtorr]

If this NYT story is accurate, GW seems to be continuing to go out of his way to make me beg for an alternative.

[Reagan Man]

Here we go again. More BIG GOVERNMENT Republicanism. PresBush is bound and determined to piss off his conservative base.

[PersonalLiberties]

I hope this is Not true, but I highly doubt it. So why are conservatives getting someone to run against Bush as he is obviously not working in the best interests of this country anymore.

[Wolfie]

It's quite clear that Republicans are more interested in retaining power in order to promote their social agenda, and are willing to sacrifice principles on the fiscal side, if necessary to retain that power.

[rwfromkansas]

Because the chance of anybody but Bush winning is the same as Mosley-Braun's chances revealed on FNC before she dropped out.....ZERO.