Tobacco Documents Online

Copyright 1993 Arnerican Biroadeasting,Companies, Inc., All rights reserved. ABC' NEW'S SHOW: WO'RLD NEW'S TONIGHT WIT'H PETER JENNINGS SEPTEMBER 2, 1993' LENGTH: 3887 words BO'DY: ANNOUNCER. ffrom ABC, this is Worid News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Sitting in tonight; Diane Sawyer. DIANE SAWYER: Good evening.The countdovvn for reform of the natiion's health care systerm has begun in earnest, with the target date for PresidentClinton's. announcement three weeks away. Today there were more hints about what the plan may contain and' how quickly it might take effect: The Wlute House says the vast majority of Americans will have guaranteed healnc coverage by 1996. Coverage for evervone else shou!Id be in place two years after that. Iviore from ABC's Jim Ansle. J1M ANGLE: The Presidcnrt also tialkcd about the program's cost today and tried to discourage any notiion he'11 have to resort to drastic measures such as price controls. PEtESIID'ENT BdLL CLINTON`. Well, they never were alive. I' never embracedl thetm. They have a111- they have been di:5cussed. J1M AtiGLE: Under the Cliinton plan, every Atnerican would be entitled to a package or batiic benefitis at about the same price regardless of existing health problems: AIDS patients, for intitance, would'pay the same as healkhy young people. REPRESENTATIVEJIM MCDERMOTT, (D], WASHINGTON: One carndesiigna ,ystern where you deliver universalcoverage to everyone, but the question is how do you pay for it? JIQvI ANGLE: One sollution in the plan is to raise the so-called"'sin' taxes". Officialls say increased taxes on tobacco andl hardlbquor will be the only new taxes needed to pay for the plan. But the President wants to subsidize health eare premiums for small businesses and tiheir low-income workers, and that will cost some $70 billion a year. The adminnistration has talked about getting some of that from savings in Medicare and Medicaid, whiich'raised fears thatbenefitst would be cut. But today; the President argued that benefits will' actually be expanded. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: We're not talking about cutting the programs: We're talking about slowing,the rate of increase. We can' fund the drug and long-term care programs: JIM ANGLE: `Iihough many analysts are skeptical of the adnainiatratiion's nurnbers; they say universallcare will save the governrnent tnoney.

J!OHN! SHEILS, HEALTH CARE ANALYST: Where all employers are providing insurance there will automatically be savings to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For example, there are lbts of working poor who are on the Medicaid! program. JIM ANGLE: In all, some $3'1 billion a year could! be saved by shifting insurance costs for the working poor and elderly from the government to their employers. [S!U] But that still leaves the administration about $40 billion short, and skeptics are convinced there's no way for the administration to accomplishi its goals without someone having,tio give up something. Jim Angle,, ABC News, Washington.