WASHINGTON--In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, President Bush proposed creating a bipartisan commission to figure out how to slow down the rapid growth of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

After acknowledging defeat of his controversial plan to reform Social Security, Bush maintained that U.S. entitlement programs are growing out of control and must be addressed. By 2030, he said, spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid alone will be almost 60 percent of the entire federal budget. "And that will present future Congresses with impossible choices--staggering tax increases, immense deficits or deep cuts in every category of spending," Bush said.

The president is expected to propose additional cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in his 2007 budget plan, which is slated for release today.

Bush also proposed ways to control growing health care costs in general. The president offered the expansion of health savings accounts--which allow consumers to put aside money tax-free for medical expenses--as one way to curb rising medical expenses. The president proposes relaxing restrictions on the accounts, tax credits for those who purchase HSAs and allowing employers to contribute more to the HSAs of chronically ill employees.

Proponents say HSAs will save health care dollars because consumers spend more wisely when they're using their own money. But others argue that the plans do not address the problem of the uninsured, will erode job-based health insurance and will cause people to forego needed care.

According to a study released last month by America's Health Insurance Plans, 1.03 million people were enrolled in HSAs in March 2005, up from 438,000 in September 2004.

The president suggested several other ways to curb health care costs in his speech:
--tax deductions for people who purchase medical coverage;
--medical malpractice reform;
--expanding electronic records and other health information technology to help control costs and reduce errors; and
--allowing small businesses to pool together to buy insurance.

But Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who delivered the Democratic response to Bush's address, said the president's ideas will do little to solve the growing health care crisis.

"Look at what's happening in health care," Kaine said. "Skyrocketing costs are hurting small businesses and pushing millions of working Americans into the ranks of the uninsured. The White House has made efforts to cut Medicaid funds for our most vulnerable citizens. Our seniors were promised that the federal Medicare drug plan would make it easier and cheaper to obtain their medication.

"Instead, many have fallen victim to the program's poor planning. They find getting their medicine to be more complex, more expensive and less reliable. There's a better way."

One way some states have helped control costs is by helping seniors to purchase prescription drugs from other countries. In Virginia, Kaine said legislators have worked to provide health insurance to nearly 140,000 additional children and have managed to keep the budget balanced.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.