Bush "health agenda leads us towards ..where health Ins within reach...

What a bunch of balony!!!!!




http://www.os.dhhs.gov/asl/testify/t050303a.html

Last Revised: March 4, 2005

Testimony

Statement by
Michael O. Leavitt
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
on
President's FY 2006 Budget for The Department of Health and Human Services
before
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies

March 3, 2005

Good morning Mr. Chairman, Representative Obey, and members of the Subcommittee. I am honored to be here today to present to you the President's FY 2006 Budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The President and I share an aggressive agenda for the upcoming fiscal year, in which HHS advances a healthier, stronger America while upholding fiscal responsibility and good stewardship of the People's money.

In his February 2nd State of the Union Address, the President underscored the need to restrain spending in order to sustain our economic prosperity. As part of this restraint, it is important that total discretionary and non-security spending be held to levels proposed in the President's FY 2006 Budget. The budget savings and reforms in the President's Budget are important components of achieving the President's goal of cutting the budget deficit in half by 2009 and we urge the Congress to support these reforms. The President's FY 2006 Budget includes more than 150 reductions, reforms, and terminations in non-defense discretionary programs, 19 of which affect HHS programs. The Department wants to work with the Congress to achieve these savings.

The President's health agenda leads us towards a nation of healthier Americans, where health insurance is within the reach of every American,where American workers have a comparative advantage in the global economy because they are healthy and productive, and where health technology allows for a better health care system that produces fewer mistakes and better outcomes at lower costs. The FY 2006 HHS budget advances this agenda.

I figure it's not worth hhe time to find the actual numbers, but during the campaign estimates were made of how many more would be insured under Bush's proposals. The numbers were quite low.

The President's health agenda leads us towards a nation of healthier Americans, where health insurance is within the reach of every American...

This is true, they didn't say what kind of health insurance. Their idea of coverage is one that is more like a health care savings account, not much benefit. It's like they didn't read the study that shows half of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills, and many of these people HAVE INSURANCE.

Do Americans look happy and healthy to you? They look fat and stressed to me.

The healthcare and mental health system here is so broken.

Sue

To suit their needs. They will alter truth to suit their purposes.

health centers--

....The President's Budget requests $2 billion, a $304 million increase from FY 2005, to fund community health centers. This request completes the President's commitment to create 1,200 new or expanded sites to serve an additional 6.1 million people by 2006. By the end of FY 2006, the Health Centers program will deliver high quality, affordable health care to over 16 million patients at more than 4,000 sites across the country. Health centers are effectively targeted to eliminate health disparities and provide a range of essential services. In 2006, health centers will serve an estimated 16 percent of the Nation's population who are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Almost forty percent of Health Center patients have no health insurance and 64 percent are racial or ethnic minorities. In addition, the President has set a new goal to help every poor county in America that lacks a community health center by establishing a community health center in counties that can support one, or a rural health center. The President's Budget includes $26 million to fund 40 new health centers in high poverty counties.