2.16.2006
At a Fast Food Bastion, Bush Sells Health Plan (LATimes.com)
He says special savings accounts, like those offered to Wendy's workers, will cut costs.
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
DUBLIN, Ohio — President Bush talked on Wednesday about good health, and his plan to help America pay for it, at the home office of the nation's third-largest purveyor of hamburgers and French fries.
Speaking in the lobby at the headquarters of Wendy's International, Bush urged Americans concerned about healthcare costs to consider a fledgling government program built around high-deductible insurance for catastrophic illness or accidents and tax-free personal savings accounts to pay for routine medical needs.
The health savings accounts, or HSAs, offer participants choices in healthcare while holding down costs because the payments will come from a patient's savings account, Bush said. If patients shop for the lowest prices, doctors and others will yield to competitive pressure, he added.
The plan's critics have argued that the program would attract the healthiest Americans, who would be able to put aside savings tax-free and spend little for healthcare, while traditional employer-provided plans would be filled with people whose health costs are the highest.
"If patients control how their healthcare dollars are spent, the result is better treatment at lower cost," Bush said.
(More ... At a Fast Food Bastion, Bush Sells Health Plan - Los Angeles Times) ¶ 21:43
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
DUBLIN, Ohio — President Bush talked on Wednesday about good health, and his plan to help America pay for it, at the home office of the nation's third-largest purveyor of hamburgers and French fries.
Speaking in the lobby at the headquarters of Wendy's International, Bush urged Americans concerned about healthcare costs to consider a fledgling government program built around high-deductible insurance for catastrophic illness or accidents and tax-free personal savings accounts to pay for routine medical needs.
The health savings accounts, or HSAs, offer participants choices in healthcare while holding down costs because the payments will come from a patient's savings account, Bush said. If patients shop for the lowest prices, doctors and others will yield to competitive pressure, he added.
The plan's critics have argued that the program would attract the healthiest Americans, who would be able to put aside savings tax-free and spend little for healthcare, while traditional employer-provided plans would be filled with people whose health costs are the highest.
"If patients control how their healthcare dollars are spent, the result is better treatment at lower cost," Bush said.
(More ... At a Fast Food Bastion, Bush Sells Health Plan - Los Angeles Times) ¶ 21:43
