Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ This can be the year that patients get the protections they need, so if a women wants to go see her OB/GYN without going through a gatekeeper, it's up to the Senate, it's up to the House. They can make it happen. And the best way to make it happen is to show some flexibility and be willing to work with the White House on the liability side of the ledger, because those liability questions are going to lead to people losing their coverage if the bill is not constructed carefully. ”

“ Community health centers are the primary place that people go who can't afford health insurance. And the President has proposed a dramatic increase in funding for community centers -- community health centers. The President's also proposed a health care tax credit, so that people who work for companies that do not provide health insurance are able to get sufficient funds, so they can get access to insurance, so they can be covered. ”

“ There are people who want to work with the White House. And the White House, as the President indicated today through his phone calls to leaders on the Hill and through the meetings he is going to have this week, is going to work as hard as he can to get an agreement, because that's in the interest of the American health consumer. ”

“ You make them hire lawyers instead of getting doctors. And, according to the Congressional Budget Office, it will increase the cost of premiums to the point where some 4 million to 6 million Americans who currently have insurance will lose their insurance. And all that is a result of what happens when there are sky-high prices dealing with medical liability and you have a system where you have unlimited or very high limits on jury awards. Q Ari, what if it's set up in a way that you would only go to court after you exhaust the independent review process? ”

“ It doesn't change the fact, does it, that Prime Minister Sharon has been rather clear, so far, in his visit to the United States, saying that he is not going to get to a cooling-off period, he is not going to take the next step until the Palestinians go farther than they are going in cutting off violence. ”

“ Again, after the meeting, if there's anything to indicate, I will. Q Ari, on the Middle East, is there not some kind of impasse between the administration's position on the ability for the two parties to move forward now, even though there's kind of a shaky cease-fire, and Prime Minister Sharon, who has said the only way to move forward is after a complete cessation of violence? MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the situation in the Middle East is always complicated, as you know. And that's one of the reasons that the President is going to welcome Prime Minister Sharon here today. ”

“ So there's plenty of room for bipartisanship on this issue if the Congress would look to find it. Q Ari, are you saying that the insurance companies are now raising prices in anticipation of -- MR. FLEISCHER: No, even without this legislation, there has been an increase in health care premiums. It's been a trend that slowed down, has accelerated in the last several years and is continuing again this year. It's just a reality of the marketplace that health care costs are going up. ”

“ That's why Human Rights Watch wants a criminal investigation. Does the President support a criminal investigation, given that evidence? MR. FLEISCHER: I think the very fact that the President is meeting this afternoon in the Oval Office with the duly-elected leader of a democrat nation speaks for itself about what the President will do and what the President supports. Q Ari, the President of the United States will support the requests of the President-elect of Peru to declassify documents about involvement of Vladimiro Montesinos with the CIA of the U.S. government in the past? ”

“ And most of these people are indigent, without insurance; tens of thousands of people per year who receive treatment who are not going to get it there anymore. MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the ability to name any new community health centers anywhere in the United States will be contingent on the action that Congress takes. And that is an important proposal that the President has made, and he hopes that Congress will act on it. Q Ari, is the administration remaining neutral on China's bid to host the Olympic games? ”

“ It's a question of continuing to work with our allies in the region, with Israel, and with other neighbors in the region to help create a climate, to help facilitate a climate that can secure a cease-fire. Q Does President Bush agree that the process cannot go forward unless we have total and complete cessation of violence? ”

“ So one of the lessons from that is to make incremental progress, by insuring as many people as possible. Q Under the health care, would you care to reassure the country that you're okay, and that you're not working to hard? ”

“ And that's why he supports the independent review organization, which would be comprised of such people. Q The Republican view is seeking an immunity for these self-insured employers, that they shouldn't be held accountable at all. ”