George H.W. Bush: “The gentleman asked about perhaps the most pressing social question that we're all facing today, and that is the…”

“The gentleman asked about perhaps the most pressing social question that we're all facing today, and that is the question of health care. The health care plan that I proposed and, when reelected, will push as an early objective provides the following: Insurance for all. The poorest of the poor will get vouchers to get the insurance. The next range up the income ladder will get assistance, tax credits to provide, to be sure they can acquire coverage. We will pool the insurance. The small operators find it very difficult to get insurance as cheap as some of the large operators. And so we've got a whole new system of pooling where you can pool insurance, people, small operators getting in together to make a large pool, thus reducing costs. And there's another way we've got to get the costs down. Frankly, we've got too many of these suits where doctors are afraid to practice medicine, even deliver babies, because of lawsuits. And so to protect themselves and the hospitals protecting themselves against these reckless lawsuits, they increase the number of tests that are needed or require people to stay longer in the hospital than they might ought to, because they're afraid of getting sued if they get out early or something. So we've got to go after these malpractice suits and stop this crazy lawsuit business because, good heavens, people are afraid to coach Little League. They're afraid to stop along a highway and pick up somebody that's hurt, for fear that person will get a lawyer and come and sue them. We're suing each other too much and caring for each other too little. So we've got to put some caps on these reckless lawsuits. And that's number one priority. Governor Clinton will not do it, because the trial lawyers own him lock, stock, and barrel as far as these campaign contributions go. Education”