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 Broad Agreement? - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 7/27/09 — Monday, July 27, 2009 — Q Can I just follow, Robert? MR. GIBBS: Let me go to Helen first. Q Now that I'm being paid so much -- MR. GIBBS: Right, your -- (laughter) -- technically, this is your $100 million question. Q I'll take it. What is the 80-percent agreement that the President reached where -- narrowly getting the bill passed. MR. GIBBS: Well, I think there's broad agreement that the bill shouldn't add to the deficit. I think there's broad agreement that we have to increase access. I think there's broad agreement that we have the do something in both the short term and in the long term, meaning inside and outside a 10-year budget window, to cut costs. I think there's broad agreement on insurance reforms, that we can't let insurance companies continue to discriminate against individuals that are very sick or have a preexisting condition. And I think there's some agreement on things like limiting out-of-pocket expenses for individuals. I think there's a broad agreement on a number of things. Q And on the whole business of everyone at the table, why is Medicare for all wiped out and single-payer? MR. GIBBS: Well, I think we've talked about this before, Helen. Obviously -- Q I would like you to refresh my memory. MR. GIBBS: I'd be happy to. A preponderance of -- I forget, I think it's 60-some percent of people in this country get their health insurance through their employer. I think we've seen even over the course of the last 40 years -- Q They don't have jobs now. MR. GIBBS: Well, some people are -- you're working; Chip, for the foreseeable future, has a job. Q Maybe not. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: Well, see. Can you help him out with a little -- we've seen how hard it is over the debate over the past 40 years to go about reforming health care in order to provide increased accessibility, in order to cut costs for families and small businesses. I think obviously the disruption of doing away with an entire employer-based system is not something that's soon going to be feasible. Q Well, why have it employer-based? Why don't we have it linked to Social Security, Medicare? MR. GIBBS: Well, again, I think you've got a system that is already providing -- again, I don't know the exact number -- but the vast majority of people are getting their insurance one way. I think in order to totally scrap that system and start anew -- look, I think you've heard the President say if you were building something completely from scratch, that you might look at different solutions -- but this is not a system that we're building completely from scratch; it's a system that has been in place for quite some time. Q And can't be improved? MR. GIBBS: Oh, no, the President is working each and every day to improve it -- absolutely. Bipartisanship | Budget | Health Care | Legislation | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Bipartisanship, Budget, Health Care, Legislation, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 10:09:00 PM
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