President Clinton calls for sweeping healthcare reforms

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President Clinton calls for sweeping healthcare reforms

Posted 2-7-2000
By Barbara Tone, RN

Washington. In his State of the Union address, President Clinton again brought health care to center stage with his proposals for reform.

In a multifaceted agenda, the president proposed significant changes in health care, including:

Adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare for the 39 million participants in the program
Passing federal legislation that would define the rights of people enrolled in HMOs
Granting a $3,000 tax credit for people with long-term care needs or their caregivers
Expanding health insurance options for those who lack access to Medicare, Medicaid, or employer-sponsored health plans
Improving access to health insurance by expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to low-income parents of children eligible for CHIP
Offering financial incentives to drug companies for developing vaccines and drugs to treat malaria, TB, and other diseases common in Third-World countries
Increasing funds for mental health care

The Medicare prescription drug benefit, initially proposed last year, is expected to meet resistance.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) supports the idea, but breaks rank over implementation. "We still have the same reservations with the president's proposal we had since its introduction last summer," said Jeff Trewhitt, spokesperson for the PhRMA. "It's still a government-mandated program and we would like to see a private-sector approach. Our ultimate goal is complete Medicare reform with prescription drug reform as part of that, but we realize the issues are complex and compounded by the politicking of an election year."

In a written response to the State of the Union address, the American Hospital Association also supported prescription coverage for seniors, but said "the key is to fund it properly-through surpluses and not by cutting resources to hospitals and caregivers."