-
https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/d08ff2bc9fc6e9c4faf6b0ccaa9670e8.pdf
b91dfb7b82bdc34457657d872fc08a56
PDF Text
Text
,'::,'
.....
,
;
�.'
,I
~ :
,
,
,
I"
,I
,
"
•J
";
~.
~
"
, ! "',.' "
,
'
..'
",
,
,
I
"
,
','
,
I
•
~
"
,
'
. : <.
,
<
"
.TERNAL, ':T~SCRIPT'
"\'r ' '
'\
,,
''
j'"
>,
" CNN' --THE wORLD' TODAY 'WIrtH~ FRANK SESNO< '"
,INTERVIEW WITH:' FIRST 'LADY HILLARY RODHAM 'CLINTON
, .
. ,TUE.~bAY'~", O¢TOB'E~, 26"f 1,993
'"l'
),
"
:j
,,-,'"<
,
,
'
I,
"",
""
,,',
','
I
'
',',
('.
:,'
I',
,i
".
: .•'
;','
'I \
, '
"",
"
Mrs ~ Clinton,' thanks:very in~~ti, f6r joining us,",
,,'F~K SESNO:
'..
,,>
~
'"
MRS . CLINTON:,
'/
,
\
,,'
'
;'.
,"
"
"
"'.,
"
,
:
, ," \ , . :
.,'I '
',',
. .•
.":
- " "
.' I
Thank 'Y,?u, / Fra,nk.' , , : : ' '.
,
r
;...
,\.,
'. ,. ,.,
"
,i,
(,' \
im.· SE$Nd:' Letm~·:startby askt{ncj' '~TOU,
if 'Imay;"ther'e ha~(
"bee:nmuch'attentio:ry ,in thecap'i:tal.;' as you well" know,' ,fqcused on the :,
. :hti~bers 'andthec:t;"edibiiity, of the acco:unting' 'of' tl.1is plan,. ,;ano ,it~,doe~'
seem' germane. I ,have been told th,at,,~his"deficit, projection that this' plim
.' "was .supposed' to achieve;hasb~Em brought:down "from $90' billion to about ,$,60
, biil:!.on~ A, ,is ,that true? )'\hd' -if',so:,",wh~t happened ,to J:hat' $30 bil'lion?
.
.
;,
!
I
I
,
','
,
'. ,
,
':,"~
,
,
'
,
,
"
"
MRs
.CLINT'ON: ' 'well,',: you' kriow>'~neOf,' the'"things ,that: we ;d;j:d:' "., "
.,', ,.over) !:h~', :past; morit.p is, to<t"ake' into,a'ccount ',all of the quest'ions and:: .,
, 'suggest'l.ons that people ,had' and',tq run the ,numbers, and'.we ,had, to make sure'
.' tpat' th~yreally, ,did' db what ~e' want,edthem to 'do.' 'In the f course' of; tl)at;
. severaL peop~~" sugg,ested that. we make s'ome 'slight, 'changes tltat wou;td::gl:ye
" even ,more support' to, the fundin'g. 'And ;t ca.n't ,give you ,an; exact figure ':
, ,ab6ut '~here,,:all'of' the ,actuarie$ and ,the: economists and, t.he, pE:ople'in ,',
,. Treasury ,arid Oz.iB"ended up/but ,this, plan will, ha~~, d~f±riitEf, and subst,antial
A'leficitreductic;:>n. and' ,ha-v:enumbers' tbat ,adcl, up and provide: very,','
,' ,
. "speci~icCllly :to the American public wl1at, theY',regofngtoget,for these'::,:
'numb.ers.So, I' think, that when all50f ,those riumbers:are revealed,and
~ "
'everybody s,til,rts,' chompi:hg'on'the~, aind :aJlalYzin'gt,hem,· ,the mor~'\ thery :know
about them" ,th~' more ,comfortable they ',will ,be'with:tl,1em,.
,', ' :1
'
"
.
;,
'
.
:'
. '
'.
'. ,
::'
, •• ' "
'I""
"
~
.'
,':~,.'
"
'
'",,
" ", MR~, SESNO': . :t don't ·wa.t;it, to, 'st'ea,i you;r 'thunde~, ,for' tomor;row,
,but is' it trti~, ,<;ls'we',ve b~~rit;:o~d,that the deficit reduction is, now, in
the neighborhood' of $60 bi-Ilion?,
',"
"
•
'.
~
",!
''
I
!".:'
.,'
,
'
....
"" i; ,',',
'f1RS.CL,l;,NTON': ,W~ll,' ;~rqpk;"I~m'
,thunder·:,'
",'"
'('
"
•
'
, '
'
•
, . , .
"
,
"
L
,,'
L
iio~ gpiIlg ,to let'y,04 steai niy,
";,.
''
,I"
,
'\"
I.;
'j
','
,
,
,
" ,
'MR.' SESNO:,;(Laughs.• )' Okay •.' 'Let me move ·on.Let,'me mbve:on on'
the subject,of'-the funding., There' 'are a, lot of concerns' 'that the numbers
, "that'yo~ proj'ect for, new pe~ef{ts'-~ iOllg"""term,care, Medicared-rtig .... '>'
provisions, ear:iy :r'~tirJeni~n~ benefits "':-:o:can,·t. ,pps'sibly ,be accurat~ly,
,,' preciicted .,On,~ofyour', owp>allies 'said, , '.w.e'Y~ never bee,ri' 'able to'"
I,
"accurately'predi9t a new federal' health penefit'. '.' What do you ,say to those:'
'cr i tics. who .in some c~ses, are your all'i'es?
" .' .' " ,"
"", ~: ' ,
.
.
.
~ .'"
.
,
"
,
I
i
,
"'.
'
,'
'
. ,..'
,','
J :
\
"
,,
'.'
"
.
"
',..
':,;
'"
'"l,
,
'{.
..
d'
" "
"
, I
'
'
,"
'\
','
,
\'
:
'""
"
'.
"
"
'
,"\
.!,)
"
"
"
,
~'
,l'
'
'
,
�:
,~
!
.'
I'
,I
.
,
I'
::
A
.';'
!
"
,
PAGE 2'
.;
"~
" i '
';I
/.
,
.. ,MRS.CLINTON: ·w.ell~ '1 thank them' fo~ their constru6tiv'~",.
\
,'crtticism; to start "vTith" becausethatt:.s' 'exactlythe right '·kind of q(ie'stidn
; ': to be ,<!,:skirig.: It's ,not .wtiet~er we're, 9"qing.to haye unive;rsal: coverage arid '.
, (health <;:~re'reform arid pomprehehsive ben~f.its, but hQw" € a n we. make ,sure', we
I,; d,O hit rfg~t?\I think tha:t/~ whatth~ Amerrcanpubl~c' and ,the president ", .
want. 'Arid .what ','1 would' say ist:nat::i~'s aJ;>solutely true 'that. estimating in'
health care arid making, sure 'we do' ,it rigl].t' is'diffic~lt. 'Families' find
that~Businesses find' that. 'But part. ,of, the reason 'it's', ~een 'so difficult
,is the way we' h?ive 'paid for'health ,care in ,the past.
'
'
,
"
.
'I
.,'
:
.
" ' " ";\
>The, rea$on .so many:'of' our, 'proj ections- and estimates' h~\,e 'been ,"
:-; ,wrong is 'because we '.have effectively writt~n ablank'check.. -We: h?\ve ,pi:lid
, 'just about whateyer anybody w6uldcharge~'· whether it, was .'in' the public' ,
'or \
. systems;of ,Medicaid. and Medica~e , ' . in private insurance., .Those day~ are'
. '.
.
.
".
go~ng .t·o end, under .the pres~dent"splan .. W,e're, gcnngt() put different,k~nqs
of' incentives',in ·that wi'll. ke:ep:'costsdown~ .iAndthat's, 'why.Ithink all of ..
us who have really worked on this arequit~ cqnfidenta~out the 'kind of'.., .
structure that.we're'puttinginplace.But weunderstandhow;people,who.are
ue;;ed 'to the way it',s been done ,in'1:;he pqst and how eften . costs. 'have' ' , '
,contJnued "to go 'up have', a .right to. ask these' qUestidn,s. But' I think the ..
, ~ore ,th~y, know, 'about: ttle plan and the way' i t,';s con'structed and all' .of 'the "
, ' details" the. better they're 'going to like· "it .. ,
"
.
'
"
"'..
,
"
-
•
'
. •
- '
•
,
'.'
'
I.)
"
:."
./.
,/
.'
,,'
,
,MR'.>, SESNO:Well', Mrs. Clinton, what ha,.ppens :if your' ....
~:r:,oj~c~ion,~ a:r;e exceeded b~' actual costs?
", ' " ,
,,'. ,
•
(
I"
,
'
,
•
,),
"
•
,
"
• 1
/'
"
"MRS~'
.
,CLINTON: : welP,s.everal things.' We; have s'ome built-in"
, '
fundi~g'that will be,'avai~able for hospitals, that, for 'example; hav~'to:end
tip 't"a:King, care' of more' illega,l aiiens than. we might have' projected~ "SO that
. , theY-have' cos'ts tha:t:. they coulc:;l, not hav~ buq.geted f·or. We have, those 'kindE! '.
"of built-ln, safeguar4s. ,But,' you know, after .a' c~rt;ain point, health care,
has to, 'be "held 'accol;lntab;te; And 'we ' ~e try:i;rtgto say in' this system that ,we'
e};cpect people ~o get, sav,ings'out
i~~ We expect them to. b~come, more ,.','
','
: efficient,. ,If 'they do' that,',we ,think there is' m6re'th1!ln enough 'inoneY,in":the
. system., But' 'as 'a backe;;top' to ,their being ab:l,.e' 1;:p make some ,of, these .'" ,
e:t'ficiehcy'decisions, we 'havewhat'we"calla.;I.premiuin cap' so 'that' we: wili '
say' to',certairi regions of ;the c~)llntry;' youk.now; .'" YpU carin~t:: spend mer.eop
" tl~al tho ~are 'because you are spending mor~ than ,any other , par:t ~'of t,he
.
country and there'sno~goo¢rreason for ·it. I . ' .. ' , .
.,' "
. ' "
of
MR." SE$Nt):', .An~ :.what
, .
~
\'"
happens, to .the p?lti,en~stherl!?
:.'
"
'f
,(.,
•
,MRS.CLINT.0N: Nothing should happen to'the patients .. What,.
:should happen is what happens:now' when Medic~re'makes adjustments or
'/
when Medicaid makes adjustments'. ,~hose people who are making 'more . '
then 'they, sho,uld 'won't be.'able' t:o make 'as. much'., .Butther~ will be' al>l,:'kinds,'
'of ,safeguards and 'accountab~lity 'that w~llb~ ~u,iit,into thesyst~in to make,
\' . sure that'.quality' arid access. ,are ,never going, t.O suffer.
.
",
.•
\, , i .
,
.
,"
".
, /.
' ..
,
,
'1
.. !
",I
:
.1
/
I
'
'.
,
. ',.
"
". \'
'" f
)
"
'" I,"
/',
.,'
,
. 'A .
-
,
. \
"
..
\.,.,
�.
"
',
..
I
',\"
..
'.,
",I'
'
""
. J
I,
;
(
,
;
I
;
",I '
",;
"
~
\'
•
:
I, I
,'MR. ,SESNo':, iL~ori',~an'ett.a', as'I unders,tand it,,~aid' ':today "that ,',"
"
if these c9sts are excee,ded,the<:ongr~ss,;mfghthave l,tO actually ,be
approached by, ,t:6¢ adininlstr.ationto, 'vote' additional,~fund$"to kick, in and
','make up:the' d1fference., Is that p'arto,f' the, plan here,' to dump t.he bu:t<;len
"
~,
, on ,congre'ss-; to' be iride~icat,e ~bout, it?'"
',I"
"
;
'
, J'
, MRS. CLINTON:"::No",Frank, 'but',it ,is,'trti~ .that whe'nyoti're,
',trying to' be responsiple" as, the' president ,and,Mr.: Panetta 'and ,others are,
you have' to' be£' -- ,at least:iri"this admi'nistra'tion, we have to be'; as :',
'
straigh~~drwai(:f as' we w,ant'the AmEh:'ical1;' peop'lete:>' knoW. we are ~$o, ,clearly
the 'congre,ss has thei'ultinlate',autho:r:i~y ove,rth~sentire 'plan. ,Itis,'just,
, stating the obvious, that i,f, something ,~eeds to:befixed or if-there,':,s a
prC?blemwit,h it',ultimate'ly, if this 'is,' going ,to 'be9nactedint(;), law, just
as socia'! -Be'curity or Medicare have' been .in the :,p'ast, ultimately' }the ,buck
,stops with the Congress. And that is stating the obvipus. . '
I,
i
•
,
'.
lj
\
, :
~.
,
,f.
t
"
-
,
I ' ,
MR~,'SESNO:' ,This, bill, 'a's ,'r; unde~st~nd "it, is: ih'~xc~ss of 1500'
p?,ges. 'It is a: very', c6mpl~xrplEH:ie '¢>f legis:ii:ftion.,' How do YQusel,1 soinethii-tg
,like, this? ,How do' you make this comprehensible to I the Ameri-can public?
,~
,.!
, •
'
. \ .
I
,,'
'
:' <,
,
,~MRS~ CLI'~TON'; 'W~::Ll,' weli'e.<d~ing'sJve~aithings. ) ,don't, think'
, it's going to be' qtiiteth?'t.llong. It/~ going"td'pe ~ong,bu~ Ith~nk ,you,'
h?,vet,o, think about its, length in, ,terms, of all;tije, thQusands'of,pages',.that'
, we're g'oing,to begett~ngrid, of., I mean" we are changing these, ,systems '
_hat regulate' everybody to death and, micromanage, ,their deci,sio,ns.;, So I ,
, ,don't kn6~' hdwmany thousands and thousands of pages w'.illnp longer be l'in
, , the law because "we, will pass' this' one compr¢hensi,ve bill,' but' 'I think'
, that',s q,,·sfgn.if·icant; diffe~ence.' 'But,wl:tat we're going to,trY,:t6 do is to
: "p'~ovi4e, all kinds o~ "materials to ~he Am~ricanpubti'c'l, to, the', news ,media~ ,
,_to :'the Congress. ,We're putting 'out ,a book, which w~'llexplain, :in',the "kind,
, ,of ;terms that, I:,dm, understand'" ,~xa9tlywhat, we"re, Q,oing.' 'We "re putti,ng out
prochures'for p~opl~.
' , .' , , ':
;, '
,'""
, , .,
I'
..
Y
.
'.
.:
. ,".
!;, "
'.
. , .;
(
"
: '
~t
!
'", You'know,.'ifFrahkLifn" Roos~velt, had ,lived intodayi stiine; h'e
,'probably 'wol.,rldni't havEibe£m'able to submit a' sociai Se,curity Act ',that: was'
only;:, 32 'pages Tong" because people"would have ll~en' asking, •,;',well,yo,u ,,', '
know" what al?out:; if 'you only work 35' quart~rs, 'or what, ,about ,.if" yoti know,
,Y,ourspouse doesn't, work? "" W~ Iive; in a~ d,ifferent ..time when peop1~ are'
information,...hungry.I think CNNhasproven that'., Arid we believe that', "
ins·tead, of, ,'as some of, the"ot;her, plans, qo" ,to ,say, '~We'.l,r take ,care, of
those problems' later, ':we deC'ided'to'pl,lt/it'~~l, in the plan. ,An9-'l'et me
gIve' you a "specific' example. :
' , ' ,',' .
I
' j '
I
."
,
',',
'.:
1
,
'/
,J}"
"
,
,
,\
'
'
,t,
' .
': ; ,::rw00f .'th~pther: plans ,that will be tOQked ,'atha:Ve said, ,
'We're not 'going' t6~ state wha,t. ,the benef:i1:;.s unde}:' the' ~nsuran6e' program
" will be'~ Wewarit you,' to, pass"this'.l'aw: We want'to establish ',a national
'board and we want 'them 'to' sei th~ ben:efit~.I'\,Now~,we have said 'we don"t
,think the 'American public 'will, go ;f9r' th~;t. iThey need' to ,know wh,at th~ir
benefit,S would be. I woul/d want to k~ow if I w~r'e sitt-i,ng, ou't, there", '
i
"''''eAG~
4 ,
<
"
'\,,',"
, . '
, . ?'
t',
,
., ,J
.' } "
,
.. "
'
•
,.
f
�\
~
,
~
\
.
,.
,
'I
'.
1r-
!
'
,
.
, .
.
. J
.'
I'
•
'.\'
\-. ''''. • '
_
',.
..
.
, '
j.. '
, ' .. '
.
. .
,':. watching,thi;; ;prog:dlin~, If you desc;ribe the. benef:its, tpat ta~e.s, pages. Tf .
"Aa1l"You .cio .i·s,say,. :'We'll:t.ake;care.!·of' ft .~ate:r , " tha,~. doesri'~takem~ch,
. •sp<;,pe.• ' so· we'.:r;etrY1ng t? be.very ~h()rough, 1nwh~twe.'re propos1ng..... .' .
"
;
I ,
..
'.
,
•
,1.
"
";
.:,
"
•
I
',,'
,
' MR. SESNO: '. You ~ent10ned. the word. \ 'regulate; '\' and that is
orie' of. the chief' critici~J(ls that: 'I '·ve· heard. from am.ii:nber. of pebpleon
capitpl !jill' and elsew.he'ref~:thatthe· proposal 'you'..r.e putting'· together, is '~:
.
. '" ',very heavy on regulatton~ An, example: The national hea'ithboard:, ~~hich ; .
would set the price.; of new drugs and would even have the . power· togo· into
the'booksof the pharmaceu,tical"cpmpariies:. ·Trui:{ or :false?,::i:stl",t~that , ..
regulation?'."
, "
.
. .'..
• "
' \
•
/'
...
\
.'
#
'
",·MRS. CLIN:rON: . Wel,l, flrst·ofa'll,they. wo~id not f;;;'~t the price.
. of new drugs. The national"board would' hav:e '.the optioh. of looking at drugs .
'that .were beirlg priced .and" asking.for infor·mation so they·.2quld mak;e a I.·.. .
judgment that docto:rs·and;chosi:>itals.wouJ:d·fiIid:verY'iIit~restfIig. as to.·. '~.
whether. oi;-not it wa,sa ptice.'that'could really be, sustained by· the drug
', ..
.company'·s ,claim .. I: ,t:tlinkthi'sis,a' very' l.mportcU1t, issue because 'l.f:we·j ..'
extend prescldpti,on .drugs ,to every American, and,particularlyto elderly" '.
Americans under-,Medicare,. 'the .Medicare program will' become .'the. iargest drug,
purchaser in the wqrl'd.· .
.
. ,
'
.'
'.
"
~
.
,'-I ','
J.
"
'
, \'
' , .'
J•
'an.
think that the drug companie~ ,then 'ha~e'
:obl:Lgation to lQak~
. ,it clear that they' are charging' .whatisa !fair prIce .. AndT. think there' "
have beem:a 'lot 'of questions., There' havebe'eh a lot of'.,hearings/.ih, ';:" .
. Congress ~. There have,)een 'a. lot'.dt: coinplaints~.tpat· w~ 'don i talways: know, , :',
'. tl1at.But,nobody's g¢lrig to'be,.setting the.price,' but we',re going to t r y '
'_or. the first, time to iiet g09d,: decent, 'solid in:formation a,bout, what a fair
pi-ice is and ./m~ke. that very widely publicly ,available ... '
'. .
'."
,
.
.' .1
"
"
'
".
"
"
"
~
,
·.. .: ·,i
.~,_'
.,1.,'"
,
','
I"
;
,','
"
,.'
.,'
. . ' ...• : '
~;"~'",
,::
I.
"
, :I.don' t,th1nk that,' s regulatlon~ I th1n~ ,t.hat"s prov1d1ng more
informa'tionso' thatthemarketp:).ace .can· 'actually work, m:ore,efficiently.. '
There. are so·mahY.features of tHis that eliminateth~ ~ind'of', "'. '.' ..
micromanagement and' regulation' tp.at· doct6r~. an,d nur~e,s" an¢! ::tio'spitals ·h.·ave
. 'compla1ned,to us :endl'essly 'about.' We're g01ngto be'mov1I'ig toward ,a',' .' .
single-form 'system l.tiQich: t tl1inkeverYccinsu.n'ler I . such 'as;' myself ,'who..can't '\
bear to, fil'!. <:mt thos~\ long forms ~ will'behappy aQout~: So I. think, on.' : . ,
'. ba~ance this' system is" goin'g.,:tob~ much. cleaner. and (simpler and will; . work" '.
better. bec,8.use!of 'it.:
....:,'
' .
.,.
. , . )
J
.
I.'
;
!
t"
\
• . • •
'.
.
~
,
"
,.
. . . . : : ;
\
I'
.
.
' . :
." • •
'.; ,:MR.-8ESNO:
Mrs.' q,llnton,tl)ank'you verY'J1,1l.uch for yourti·me.· .,'.
Many' 6t~er issues .to· 'discuss;, l' hope' we'll' have ~that, opportunit·y som~ti-me
i
.,"
"s6on~
~
..... ,
. ..
.
,
.J
..
MRS.' CLINTO~: "
MR.' ,
.
".
,",
."
' . ' . (, . . . .
,J I
Id,O, t'06~: Tllanks~';
"."
•
'
Ttianks,,'Fra~k~
\"
•
"I
J' •
'.
',~'
\,",
I
app~f=cHate ~hat':':
:1
.,,!
,
,'..
.
. '0
i, ','
'
/_
'f
\
"
t
,
"
'
"
. I
"
.,
'. ',I
,.,
1·...
..
.,
,.
.
'\,
I'"
s~£;Nd:,,:' A.~~:~appYbirtl).daY:,' th~·way.~·' ,":. .\
by;
'1
-'• • ).',
.'
.'.';
,
'
" \.
;
'MR~: 'C~INTON:
,
'.','
,;
;1
•
..
.
"'"
-.
'r
\ '
,
,
\,
�,.,'
'j.
.-
"
1
',.
'j
,',
I ..
\'
,
•
\
i'
MRS'. .CL1N'l'ON.:
Wlawill. Thanks.
.1
',,"
MR.SESNO:
MRS .
CLIN~ON':
I,
Bye. .,.
,\
.(
/,
"
'
,\
"
"
I
"
\'..
, i
,<,1'
(
/
,
,
"
",
: I
'
'
,
)
.1
./
','
i
~,
t,
I:
("
"
('
, .f
"
,: ,' .
. '
J
"I
\
\' ,
'\
.
t
\.
,:
i
j :
(.
/
'\ '
\
/ .
,,'
t,
,
.,
f"
..
,',\
"
,
,,
,
,',
,r
\
"
.,
.,:
,\
,'!:
.,':
-' !
',I
�,
, i1
I,
•
J
.,
THE WHITE ,HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Internal Use Only
October 26, 1993
INTERVIEW WITH THE FIRST LADY
BY FRANK SESNO OF CNN
(Unrecorded question)
MRS. CLINTON:
Well, you know, one of the things
that we did over the past month is to take into account all
of the questions' and suggestions that people had, and to run
the numbers. And we had to make sure that they really did do
what we wanted them to do. In the, course of that, several
people suggested that we make some slight changes that would
give even more support to the funding.
And I can't give you an exact figure about where
all of the actuaries and the economists and the people at
Treasury and OMB ended up, but this plan will have definite
and sUbstantial deficit reduction and have numbers that add
up, and provide very specifically to the American public what
they are going to get for these numbers. So I think that
when all of those numbers are revealed and everybody starts
chomping on them and analyzing them, the more they know about
them the more comfortable they will be with them.
(Unrecorded question)
Well, Frank, I'm not going to let you steal my
thunder.
(Unrecorded question)
Well,'I thank them for their constructive
criticism, to start with, because that's exactly the right
kind of question to be asking. J:t's not whether we are going
to have universal coverage and health care reform and
comprehensive benefits, but how can we make sure we do it
right. I think that's what the American public and the
President want.
,
And what I would say is that it's absolutely true
that estimating in health care and making sure we do it,
'.
MORE
�•
2
right, 1s difficult. Families find that, businesses find
that. But part of the reason it's been so difficult is the
way we have paid for ,health care in the past. The reason so
many of our projections and estimates have been wrong is
because we have effectively written a blank check. We have
paid just about whatever anybody would charge, whether it was
in the public systems of Medicaid and Medicare or in private
insurance. Those days are going to end under the President's
plan.
We are going to put different kinds of incentives
in that will keep cost down. And that's why I think all of
us who have really worked on this, are quite confident about
the kind of structure that we are putting in place.
But
we understand how people who are used to the way it's been
done in the past, and how often costs have continued to go
up, have a right to ask these questions. But'I think the
more they know about the plan, and the way it's constructed,
and all of the details, the better they are going to like it.
(Unrecorded question)
Well, several things. We have some built-in
funding that will be available for hospitals that, for
example, have to end up taking care of more illegal aliens
than we might have projected, so that they have costs that
'they could not have budgeted for. We have those kinds of
built-in.safeguards. But, you know, after a certain point
health care has to be held accountable.
We are trying to say in this system that we expect
people to get savings out of it, we expect them to become
more efficient. If they do that,we think there.is more than
enough money in the system. But as' a backstop to their being
able to make some ofthe,se efficiency decisions, we have what
we call a premium cap so that we will say to certain regions
of the country, you cannot spend more on health care because
you are spending more than any other part of the country, and
there is no good reason for it.
(Unrecorded question)
But nothing should happen to the patients. What
should happen is what happens now when Medicare makes
adjustments, or when Medicaid makes adjustments. Those
people who are making more than they should, won't be able to
make as much. But there will be all kinds of safeguards and
•
MORE
�•
3
accountability 'that will be built into the system to make
sure that quality and access are never going to suffer. /
(Unrecorded question)
NO, Frank, but it is true that when you are trying
to be responsible, as the President and Mr. Pinette
(phonetic) and others are, you have to be -- at least in this
administration we have to be as straightforward as we want
the American people to know we are. So clearly the Congress
has the ultimate authority over this entire plan. It is just
stating the obvious that if something needs to be fixed, or
if there is a problem with it, ultimately if this is going to
be enacted into law, just as Social Security or Medicare have
been in the past, ultimately the buck stops with the
Congress. And that is stating the obvious.
(Unrecorded question)
Well, we are doing several things. I don't think
it's going to be quite that long. It's going to be long, but
I think you have to, think about its length in terms of all
the thousands of pages that weare going to be getting rid
of. I mean, we are changing these systems that regulate
everybody to death and micro-manage their decision. I don't
know how many thousands and thousands of pages will no longer
be in the law, because we will pass this one comprehensive
bill, but I think that's a significant difference.
But what we are going to try to do is to provide
all kinds of material to the American public, to the news
media, to the Congress. We are putting out a book which will
explain, in the kind of terms that I can understand, exactly
what we are doing. We are putting out brochures for people.
You know, if Franklin Roosevelt had lived in
today's time, he probably wouldn't have been able to submit a
Social Security Act that was only 32 pages long because
people would have been asking, well, what about if you only
work 35 quarters, or what about if your spouse doesn't work.
,
We live in a different time when people are
information hungry. I think CNN has proven that. And we
believe that instead of, as some of the other plans do, to
say we'll take care of those problems later, we decided to
put it all in the plan. And let me give you a specific
example: Two of the other plans th~t will be looked at have
said we are not going to state what the benefits under the
MORE
�•
4
insurance program will be. We want you to pass this law, we
want to establish a national board, and we want them to set
the benefits.
NOw, we have said we don't think the American
public will go for that. They need to know what their
benefits will be. I would want to know if I was sitting out
there watching this program. If you describe the benefits,
that takes pages. If all you do is say, we'll take care of
it later, that doesn't take much space. So we are trying to
be very thorough in what we are proposing.
(Unrecorded question)
Well, first of all, they would not set the price of
new drugs. The national board would have the option of
looking at drugs that were being priced and asking for
information so they could make a judgment, that doctors and
hospitals would find very interesting, as to whether or not
it was a price that could really be sustained by the drug
companies' claims. I think this is a very important issue
because if we extend prescription drugs to every American,
and particularly to elderly Americans under Medicare, the
Medicare program will become the largest drug purchaser in
the world.
I think that the drug companies then have an
obligation to make it clear that they are charging what is a
fair price. And I think there have been a lot of questions.
There have been a 19t of hearings in Congress, there have
been a lot of complaints that we don't always know that. But
nobody is going to be setting the price. But we are going to
try for the first time to get good, decent, solid information
about what a fair price is, and make that very widely and
publicly
(End tape 2, side 1.)
MRS. CLINTON:
such as myself, who can't bear to
fill out those long forms, will be happy about it. So I
think on balance this system is going to be much cleaner and
simpler and will work better because of it.
(Unrecorded question)
I do, too.
Thanks, 'bye .
.
-~
Thanks, Frank.
,~-./
I appreciate that.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lissa Muscatine - Press Office
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
First Lady's Office
Press Office
Lissa Muscatine
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993 - 1997
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36239" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431941" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2011-0415-S
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Lissa Muscatine first served in the Clinton Administration as a speechwriter. Within the First Lady’s Office, she served as Communications Director to the First Lady.</p>
<p>Lissa Muscatine’s records consist of materials from First Lady Hillary Clinton’s Press Office, highlighting topics such as health care, women’s rights, the Millennium Council, Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, and deal extensively with press interviews given by the First Lady; her domestic and foreign travel; and speeches and remarks, on a wide variety of topics, given by her before and during her time as First Lady. The records include interview transcripts, press releases, speeches and speech transcripts.</p>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
1,324 folders in 27 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
FLOTUS Press Office Interview Transcripts Volume II 10/93 - 01/28/94 [Binder]: [10/26/93 Sesno, Frank CNN]
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 2
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/2011-0415-S-Muscatine.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431941" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
First Lady's Office
Press Office
Lissa Muscatine
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2011-0415-S
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
11/26/2012
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
2011-0415-S-flotus-press-office-interview-transcripts-volume-ii-10-93-01-28-94-binder-10-26-93-sesno-frank-cnn
7431941