Bill Clinton: “The following people will get less money, or will pay more: single, healthy workers who are insured in big plans now so…”

“The following people will get less money, or will pay more: single, healthy workers who are insured in big plans now so they have low costs because they're at least risk, will pay more. They'll pay about $6 a month apiece more to help to cover that gentleman up there with AIDS or older people, just who get older, it costs more. They'll pay more. People who provide only the scantiest catastrophic illness-- for example, I met a man, a man came into my office in the White House today with a group of folks, who travels with an entertainment group. He's got a $5,000 deductible with a modest income. He might as well not have any insurance. Now, he'll have to pay a little more, but he'll have something when he pays it. People that don't pay anything now will have to pay more if they have jobs, and their employer will have to pay something, although we're going to try to keep the small businesses from being hurt too badly. All those people will pay more. Who will get less under this system? You've got to squeeze-- somebody's got to get less. Who will get less? The people who benefit from the paperwork explosion will get less. Hospitals in the future will hire fewer clerical workers, doctors' offices won't have to hire an extra person just to spend all day long calling insurance companies, beating up on them to pay the money that they owe anyway. Insurance companies will not grow as rapidly, and there may be fewer of them unless they can get in here and provide these plans at competitive costs. So that's the major squeeze in the management of the system. There will also be savings, frankly, in the provision of services. We had, in the Pennsylvania case I just cited, they published a heart procedure where the prices charged in the State of Pennsylvania varied from $21,000 to $84,000 for the same procedure, with no differences in health outcomes. When all of you get into big groups so that you have the power that the IBM employees do, you will take the $21,000 choice every time as long as there's no difference in the outcome. And so, everybody there, there will be some losers. But, on balance, most Americans will win, and the security is worth something. And then, over the long run, we'll all win if we can bring health costs closer to inflation. Mr. Koppel. Let me direct your attention to the balcony up there. Go ahead, sir. [A participant asked about the effect of a tobacco tax on the tobacco industry.]”