Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ Any time somebody sues, they make a determination to go into court, and nobody is satisfied with a court system in which the contingency fees give a lot of the rewards to the attorneys and not very much to the consumers. And the President, again, believes that when people are denied services, they want to quickly be able to get the health care they need from a medical provider, and not have to go and hire a lawyer and go to court and wait years for adjudication of a court claim. ”

“ Through the Department of Transportation, the federal government has already issued rules to make certain that all trucks that operate within the United States are operated safely. By doubling the number of inspectors along the border, as the President has proposed, the Congress can show its commitment to truck safety. But the House, in the President's opinion, should not ban trucks because they're operated by our Mexican friends to the south. Under the DOT rule, individual trucks would be subject to inspection, exactly as American trucks are subject to inspection. ”

“ The President is very pleased that action is beginning in the Congress on one of his defining policy objectives to help some 15 million children who are at risk in this country, 2 million children are prisoners, so they have more opportunities and more hope for a brighter future. The faith-based initiative is aimed squarely at bringing help to those who are often left behind in society, and an agreement has been reached with House leaders on the terms of the language. ”

“ The system is imploding in the patients bill by increasing costs will accelerate its demise. And then she says, the answer is a single-payer system that covers everyone and more efficiently uses the resources we allocate to health care. ”

“ The President is always concerned about extremism and terrorism and that is particularly the case with Osama Bin Laden. And the United States, working with our allies around the world, will remain vigilant in making certain that all steps are taken to prevent terrorist acts from taking place. Q Ari, about global warming issues, is there any possibility whatsoever of the President changing his well-known position on the Kyoto Protocol as a result of his meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi Saturday, or would you totally rule it out? ”

“ And one of the reasons that plan can be uniform and universal and therefore available to so many tens of millions of Americans who get their insurance through their employer is because they know they can offer one package to all their employees and not have to design 50 packages to conform with 50 laws in 50 states. ”

“ The government of Mexico has just announced that they are planning to close the border of Mexico and close the roads for American trucks. And also some Mexican legislator have said that they're planning to go to the WTO to deal with this issue. My question is, is the President planning to call the Mexican government, to plan some talks, or other members of the government to try to deal with this issue? MR. FLEISCHER: The place the issue needs to be dealt with is in the United States Congress. ”

“ Seniors, for example, for the first time can have medical savings accounts. Seniors, as you indicate, are in HMOs if they want to be in HMOs. Seniors have to pay Medigap, however. Medigap is very expensive. So there are a series of options available to seniors -- Q But why not repeal Medicare? MR. FLEISCHER: The President believes very deeply that we need to have Medicare, and he believes so deeply in it that he wants to make sure that the system is there for younger workers, young people. ”

“ The President believes there must be a continued role for the government in these matters. But even with the government having spent trillions since the War on Poverty began in the early '60s, there have been millions of Americans who have been left behind. The government proposals, no matter how effective and how well-intentioned, have not been able to find everybody in our society who needs help. Very often the answer is -- Q Well, isn't it Congress' fault? ”

“ In the case of Medicaid, it often goes directly to the service provider, the hospital or the doctor -- or the hospital. It reimburses hospitals for their costs. So it costs the government -- Habitat for Humanity receives federal funding in some cases. ”

“ And the President does not want to give up on anyone who has been left behind after the government does everything it can do. And often the solution is found in the Salvation Armies of the world, in the faith-based organizations of the world. And the President wants to empower them to do more to bring help to those in need. Q Ari, in the patients' bill of rights, there are Democrats who see this House approach, especially on, yes, you can sue in state court, but the way you get there creates something of a maze before you can get there. ”

“ It is not unusual for Congress to speak its mind on amendments and for that process to change several times. That's one of the reasons that in the House, appropriation bills are one of the few bills that are subject to amendment. Not every bill that moves through the House is subject to wide-ranging amendment. So it's not at all unusual for the House to express itself, and for the House then to take additional or corrective action when it gets to conference. Q Ari, does the President believe Mexican trucks are as safe as American trucks? ”

“ Q Ari, back to the state court versus federal court issue. It takes a long, long time in federal court for civil cases to come to trial. There just aren't that many federal courthouses compared to state courthouses. There is a big civil case backlog. And it's more expensive, generally, because getting a lawyer who practices in federal court tends to cost more. Is the President comfortable with making people wait years before they come to adjudicate their health care claims and make them pay a lot more -- MR. FLEISCHER: State courts are not exactly known for their swiftness. ”

“ And many seniors said thank you to President Clinton and to the federal government because it preserved the option that they themselves chose. And through HMOs, many seniors have access to drugs, for example, that they do not get under typical Medicare. So the President believes the answer is empowering consumers with choices. Q But just to follow up, if in fact that's the argument, why not just repeal Medicare and give seniors choice, total choice? MR. FLEISCHER: Seniors are increasingly receiving choices. ”

“ There are a host of groups in our society that are faith-based that do good deeds that bring help to people who otherwise would be left out -- Q Why is he so against the government doing these things? ”

“ I anticipate that the topic of global warming can come up and I think that you will hear the President indicate what he has indicated publicly before about his desire to find a way to reduce greenhouse gases, and he will share that with the Japanese Prime Minister. ”

“ The President's solution is to right away get people care. Q Are you saying that if the President is persuaded that these independent review boards, in whatever legislation finally emerges, are not truly independent and that the HMOs, in fact, do have a broad say in either financing or makeup, he will veto the legislation? ”