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Senior Citizen Politics
President Ducks on Solutions for Social Security,
Medicare, Medicaid in State of Union
Bush says programs cost more than we can afford but
Congress must find solutions
 Jan. 29, 2008 - Whenever a President gives the
State of the Union address, senior citizens listen carefully for what
may be proposed regarding the lifelines for many Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid. Last night, some even feared President Bush would
call for spending cuts in Medicare, but it did not happen. He just said
the programs are costing more than we can afford and called on Congress
to find the solutions.
An editorial in the New York Times today says after
Bush signed the Medicare prescription drug benefit into law, his
"appetite for making health care accessible and affordable for all
Americans vanished."
President Bush
Addresses Health Care, Entitlement Programs in Final State of the Union
Address
In his final State of the Union address on Monday,
President Bush appealed for "extending or cementing past initiatives,"
and he reintroduced ideas that in the past have gained no traction such
as health care tax breaks and a cloning ban, the
Washington Post reports (Baker, Washington Post, 1/29).
In his address, Bush called for health care reform
that involves market competition, rather than government mandates (Kranish/Milligan,
Boston Globe, 1/29). Bush advocated a previous proposal that would
provide tax deductions to help U.S. residents purchase individual health
insurance or coverage through employers and would eliminate tax breaks
for employer-sponsored health insurance in some cases.
According to Bush, Republicans and Democrats "share
a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all
Americans." He said, "The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding
consumer choice, not government control. So I have proposed ending the
bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance
through their employer. This one reform would put private coverage
within reach for millions" (Wolf et al.,
USA Today graphic, 1/29).
Bush also said that Congress should "expand health
savings accounts, create association health plans for small businesses,
promote health information technology and confront the epidemic of junk
medical lawsuits," all of which would "ensure that decisions about your
medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor's office, not in the
halls of Congress" (Bush speech text,
Washington Post, 1/29).
Entitlement
Programs
Bush "challenged members of the Democratic-majority
Congress to reach bipartisan solutions" on Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid, according to the Globe (Boston Globe, 1/29).
Bush said, "Every member in this chamber knows that
spending on entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid is growing faster than we can afford. Now I ask members of
Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution
to save these vital programs for our children and grandchildren" (AP/Austin
American-Statesman, 1/28).
Other
Health-Related Issues
In his address, Bush also called for Congress to:
● Approve a $30 billion, five-year extension of
the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief;
● Increase funds for research on "reprogrammed
adult skin cells, which have the potential and do act like embryonic
stem cells" (Ward,
Washington Times, 1/29);
● Pass legislation that would ban "unethical
practices such as the buying, selling, patenting or cloning of human
life";
● Double "federal support for critical basic
research in the physical sciences";
● Reauthorize and reform the Trade Adjustment
Assistance Act;
● Pass legislation to implement
recommendations by former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and former
HHS Secretary Donna Shalala to "improve the system of care for our
wounded" veterans (Bush speech text, Washington Post, 1/29).
Democratic
Response
In the Democratic response to the address, Kansas
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) asked Bush to work with Congress "in the next
357 days to get real results and give the American people renewed
optimism that their challenges are the top priority" (Abramowitz/Eggen,
Washington Post, 1/29).
Sebelius called on Bush to support some Democratic
proposals for health care reform (Lefler/Koranda,
Wichita Eagle, 1/29). She said, "We know that we're stronger as a
nation when our people have access to the highest-quality, most
affordable health care, when our businesses can compete in the global
marketplace without the burden of rising health care costs here at home"
(Sebelius speech text,
New York Times, 1/29).
Sebelius also asked Bush to sign legislation to
reauthorize and expand SCHIP as a "first step in overhauling our health
care system" (Branigin,
Washington Post, 1/29).
According to the
Bergen Record, her comments do not indicate that Democrats are
"holding their breath for a presidential change of heart" but that they
are "aiming more for drawing distinctions with Bush ... in an election
year with the presidency and their majorities at stake" (Kellman, Bergen
Record, 1/29).
New York Times
Editorial
"Monday night's address made us think what a
different speech it might have been if Mr. Bush" had "made a real effort
to reach for the bipartisanship he promised in 2002 and so many times
since" on health care and other issues, a
New York Times editorial states.
In the event that Bush had made such an effort, he
"could have used last night's speech to celebrate a balanced budget, one
in which taxes produce enough money to pay for the nation's genuine
needs, including health care for poor children," according to the
editorial.
In addition, "he would have been able to use last
night's speech to celebrate the expansion of health insurance to tens of
millions of children with working parents," the editorial states.
According to the editorial, after Bush signed the
Medicare prescription drug benefit into law, his "appetite for making
health care accessible and affordable for all Americans vanished" (New
York Times, 1/29).
Broadcast
Coverage
● Video of the State of the Union address and
Democratic response is available
online at
kaisernetwork.org.
● NPR's "Morning
Edition" on Tuesday included a "fact check" of statements in the
address (Montagne, "Morning Edition," NPR, 1/29). Audio of the segment
is available
online. Expanded NPR analysis of the Bush health insurance proposal
also is available
online.
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