【美国总统电台演说】2007-02-24

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, I traveled to a hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I visited with doctors and health care experts. We discussed an urgent priority for our Nation, how we can make health care coverage¹ more affordable² and accessible for all Americans.

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services released a study that showed why we must act now to reform our health care system. The study forecast that our Nation's health care spending will almost double by the year 2016. If this happens, health care spending will account for nearly one out of every $5 spent in our economy. The study forecast that the government's share of these costs will rise, as well. Unless the system is reformed, within a decade taxpayers³ will be shouldering nearly half of all health care spending in our Nation.

There's also some encouraging news in this study. It provides fresh evidence that the Medicare prescription⁴ drug benefit we enacted⁵ is working to help get seniors the drugs they need. Millions of seniors are filling more prescriptions⁶ because they now have coverage, yet overall national spending on prescription drugs is lower than it would have been without this program. This is because we set up a system where private drug plans must compete for the business of Medicare beneficiaries. This competition is delivering better prices for seniors and good results for taxpayers. We need to maintain the gains we made by keeping competition in Medicare -- and by opposing any effort that would put the Federal government in charge of "negotiating" and setting drug prices.

We should also apply the same market-based principles to other parts of our health system. Today we have a big problem with our tax code: If you buy health insurance on your own, you do not get the same tax advantages as people who get their health insurance through their jobs. When it comes to health care, everyone should get the same tax breaks.

So I proposed a standard tax deduction⁷ for health insurance that would be like the standard deduction for dependents. This common-sense solution will level the playing field for all Americans, whether you get your health insurance through your job or on your own.

One person who would benefit from this plan is Danny Jennings, a father of two who does not have health insurance for his family. I met Danny earlier this week. Under my plan, Danny would save about $4,500 on his taxes. And these tax savings⁸ would put basic coverage within the reach of his family.

Now imagine if this standard tax deduction were already in place for people like Danny, and some politician suggested taking it away. Critics would say that the politician was giving an unfair advantage to people who work for big businesses that provide insurance, and harming millions of working families who have to buy their own coverage. The critics would be right.

My proposal would provide the same deduction for all Americans who buy health insurance, whether they get it through their job or on their own. That is fair, and it's the right thing to do.

Another way we can reform our health care system is to support governors who are coming up with innovative⁹ plans to help their citizens get health coverage. These governors know their people, and they know their needs. As a former governor, I believe the Federal government ought to help, not hinder, our states as they innovate¹⁰. So I have proposed the "Affordable Choices" grants initiative. Under my proposal, states that make basic private health insurance available to all their citizens would receive Federal funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and the sick. By taking existing Federal funds and turning them into "Affordable Choices" grants, we will give America's governors more money and more flexibility¹¹, so they can help provide private health insurance for those who need it most.

America has the best health care system in the world, because it puts doctors and patients in charge, encourages new technologies, and finds new ways to improve quality. By giving our states more flexibility and making our tax code fairer, we can reform our health care system and restrain costs. And by implementing¹² these reforms now, we can help ensure every American has a future with better choices, better care, and greater hope for a healthy tomorrow.

Thank you for listening.

END

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

7 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

8 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

9 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

10 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

11 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

12 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句