VOA慢速英语2009年-Economics Report - Seeking Opinions on Hea

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

President Obama is letting Congress write the details of his plan for what he calls health insurance reform. Congress is now on its August break. But members have been holding what are known as town hall meetings around the country to hear reaction. And they have been getting an earful from crowds for and against the plan.

SOUND: "This is not health reform, this is control! Control over our lives!"
　
Expressions of opinion about health care reform at a town hall meeting in Alhambra, California

The president, at his own meetings, pointed¹ back to the nineteen nineties.

BARACK OBAMA: "Every time we come close to passing health insurance reform, the special interests fight back with everything they've got. They use their influence. They use their political allies to scare and mislead the American people. They start running ads. This is what they always do"

But some objections are based on cost estimates from an independent agency, the Congressional Budget Office. Also, some people say they have not gotten enough details of the plan to be able to make up their minds.

Two goals are to expand health insurance to millions of Americans who do not have it, and to control rising costs for those who do. A public insurance plan is proposed to compete with private insurance companies. Republicans and other critics say the Democrats²' idea of reforms would lead to socialized health care.

But one of the first groups to support the administration was the Pharmaceutical³ Research and Manufacturers of America. PhRMA is spending millions on advertising⁴ to support the plan

The industry group has already promised to cut drug costs by eighty billion dollars over ten years. Critics want more. Some liberal lawmakers have proposed measures such as letting the government negotiate lower drug prices. But under the PhRMA deal, the chances for additional cost-saving measures are unclear.

Drugs that need a doctor's prescription⁶ became a bigger part of the debate over health care costs in two thousand three. Congress and President George W. Bush added prescription drugs to the Medicare insurance program for older Americans. That raised the costs of Medicare, which represented fifteen percent of the federal budget last year.

But PhRMA says drug costs are only ten percent of all health care costs in America. It also points out the high costs of developing new drugs.

Yet researchers from Stanford University say new treatments are often no better than existing ones, but are almost always more costly⁷. Writing for the New England Journal of Medicine, they suggest a way to lower prices. They say the government should require drug makers⁵ to state, in their labeling information, how new medications compare with existing ones.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。