Bill Clinton: “This is something I should tell all of you, another point I didn't make in my opening remarks, but let me say, as all of…”

“This is something I should tell all of you, another point I didn't make in my opening remarks, but let me say, as all of you know just from common sense, most people in America who don't have insurance get health care if they're real sick. But they get it when it's too late, too expensive. They usually get it at an emergency room. They don't pay, and then the emergency room at the hospital has to decide whether they're going to pass the cost along to the rest of us, so that we pay more than we should, or whether they are going to absorb it and therefore weaken the financial condition of our health care providers in our communities. So I want to set that up. Now, why hasn't this been done? People have been trying for 60 years to do this. First of all, because America historically is very anti- Government. We think the Government would mess up a one-car parade. [Laughter] And so, we are afraid for the Government to do anything involving health care. Secondly, because small business people, in general, often think that they cannot afford any more requirements from Government. They're paying a lot for worker's comp. They're paying a lot for Social Security. They have a lot of costs. They are worried about whether they can do this. And I hope we get a chance to talk about this, because I believe most small business people will come out ahead on our plan, and I'd like to explain why. That's a problem. Third, because the thing that's wrong with the American health care system is not the health care providers. We've got the best doctors and nurses and medical research and medical technology in the whole world. The thing that's wrong with our system is the way it's financed. But a lot of good people are employed in the way it's financed now. You know, we are the only country in the World with 1,500 separate health insurance companies writing thousands of different policies which, in turn, require literally hundreds of thousands of clerical workers in doctors' offices, hospitals, and insurance offices to figure out what's not covered. Right? It's not a good way to spend money, but there are a lot of good people doing it. And there are a lot of good people, independent insurance agencies, for example, that are doing the best they can for their own clients within this system. If we cut back on the administrative costs and spend the money on health care, we'll create more jobs in health care, but we'll lose jobs in the paperwork end of health care. We spend about $90 billion a year in the United States, more on administration and paperwork than any country would under any other system. So a lot of things will get changed. People are scared of change, skeptical of the Government. Small business is sensitive, and the health insurance financing system will be changed. That's what's against our changing the system. I think the arguments for it are much more powerful, but oftentimes, it's harder to change than it is to stay the same. That's why we haven't done it. That's why we need stories like your mother's story out there to remind us of the human issues at stake.”