FOX NEWS CHANNEL
Saturday April 20, 2005 at 4:15 pm est
Interviewer: Jamie Colby
(billed as Jeb Bush’s First National Interview re: Medicaid)
Curing America’s Health Care Crisis: “He‘ll talk about a growing challenge that is affecting every taxpayer in the country.“
JAMIE COLBY: You are converting public health care into managed care program. Always great to see you. JBush: Thank you Jamie.
JColby: Medicare is for the poor, medicare is for the elderly. How will it save money for the state?
JBush: Our Medicaid program in Florida is growing at 13.5% a year that’s not sustainable…involves cutting benefits and taking people off the rolls. We would move to a new system and reward people for their decisions. Transform the program to protect it for 2.1 million beneficiaries in our state.
JColby: If you bring health care providers into the mix, what will medical recipients have to do?
JBush: Right now we have (inaudible) # patients regulated. We would allow provider service networks to propose services for specific targets. Medicaid beneficiaries would choose the best program for themselves. And if they made the right health care decisions for their life, they would be rewarded. They would be asked to choose. It would change the system and we would monitor it. Many of the problems and costs come from acute illnesses and no state and this state has not done a very good job at doing it.
JColby: …maybe bad choices. Will it become a national reform?
JBush: We will go slowly as we implement this. We will have choice counselors. The role of the government will continue to regulate these plans so they don’t rip us off like they do now. We will seek approval from Washington, a waiver to pay for these benefits… ultimately get to a national solution.
JColby: please stay with us about protecting children. There’s the Jessica Lunsford bill. We’ll be right back. Welcome back Governor. You have this bill before you named for Jessica Lunsford. Terrible time with the loss of two little girls.
JBush: I will sign it into law tomorrow and it does enhance penalties for sexual predators and sex offenders who are on probation. Ankle bracelets. Misdemeanor offenses carried out by the County, you have to ck to make sure that someone is on the registry. We have the toughest laws in the country and we need to enforce those laws. I don’t know if we can ever guarantee… it breaks my heart for the loss of these families.
JColby: What if they cut it off?
JBush: We have the longest prison sentences in the country… we have civil confinement. Jimmy Rice Act. They are still contained in facilities. They are sick and cannot ever get the sickness out of them. We will continue to work on it to make sure that citizens know where the sexual predators are.
JColby: …. Have you talked to governors in other states about this?
JBush: Other states are adding to their laws and I would encourage them to do it.
JColby: Thank you so much for talking with us about Medicaid and about the Lunsford bill.
JBush: You’re welcome.
End of transcript
He's sure running for president. Did you catch Jeb's use of the word "choice". That's a favorite word of left wingers. He better think of something else to say besides "it breaks my heart" when a woman or child is killed in Florida. It's disingenuous coming from him.
Re: Health Care - rewarding people by giving them better health care if they make the right choices? What kind of govt intrusion is that? He reminds me of Hitlery.
Finally, Jeb sure cut Terri from the rolls. FV
Thanks for posting the "interview". What a fluff piece. Jeb probably refuses to give an interview unless they promise not to mention Terri. I'm sure of it. But I WILL NEVER FORGET!!!!