bush & healthcare

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My job as the President is to submit a budget to the Congress and to set priorities, and one of the priorities that we've talked about is making sure the health care systems are funded.”
GWB @ Egleston Children's Hospital, Atlanta, Ga 3/1/01

Bush’s first budget proposed cutting grants to children’s hospitals like the one he visited by 15% ($34 million). His 2004 budget additionally proposes to cut 30% ($86 million) out of grants to children’s hospitals.
Health care spending in the U.S. rose to $1.55 trillion in 2002, a 9.3% increase that surpassed growth in the rest of the U.S. economy for the fourth year in a row.

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“Having been here and seeing the care that these troops get is comforting for me and Laura. We are -- should and must provide the best care for anybody who is willing to put their life in harm's way.” – Bush, 1/17/03

Bush's visit came on the same day that the Administration announced it is immediately cutting off access to its health care system approximately 164,000 veterans. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Veterans Affairs Department will suspend enrollment Friday for higher-income vets seeking health care for non-military related ailments ranging from routine care to heart disease and diabetes.
The suspension, scheduled to last through 2003, goes against VA policy set in 1996 when Congress ordered the agency to open health care to nearly all veterans. The change is expected to affect about 164,000 veterans. The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said the decision was disappointing but "underscores the need to develop long-term solutions to VA's health care funding problems."