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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion May 27, 2004
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Bush Cuts Children's Health While Rewarding HMOs



During today's trip to Tennessee 1, President Bush will hold a photo-op at a children's hospital and then attend a $2,000-per-person fundraiser at the home of a top health insurance executive 2. The two events provide a perfect display of how the President has misled America on health care policy: at the same time that he has tried to slash funding for children's hospitals, his budget lavishes billions of dollars on health insurance companies who fund his campaign.

During today's first event, the President is expected to praise children's hospitals. However, his budget this year proposes to freeze funding for grants to these hospitals, preventing their federal grants from keeping pace with inflation 3. He also proposes a $94 million cut to the Community Access Program 4 - effectively eliminating another program that provides grants to children's hospitals in need. And he is trying to slash $158 million (68%) from training grants for specialties that include pediatrics 5. These efforts are consistent with his past policies: last year, the President proposed cutting $86 million (30%) from grants to children's hospitals 6. And in 2002, he proposed to cut $35 million (14%) from grants for children's hospitals to train pediatricians 7.

After his photo-op at the children's hospital, the President will attend a fundraiser at the home of Clay Jackson 8, an executive 9 at a health insurance company called BB&T 10. Unlike the children's hospitals whose budgets have been cut, insurance executives like Jackson have a lot to thank the President for. For instance, the President crafted a Medicare bill that gives health insurance companies a new $130 billion subsidy 11, while forcing many seniors off traditional Medicare and into HMOs 12. The President has also done nothing to address the skyrocketing costs of health care, sitting by last year as HMOs raised premiums by 13% 13 and raked in an extra $6.7 billion from Americans 14.

Sources:
  1. "Bush to pump health care, campaign coffers with Nashville visit", WATE.com, 05/27/2004.
  2. "Bush expected in Nashville for Republican fund-raiser", Nashville City Paper, 05/11/2004.
  3. AAMC.org, 02/06/2004.
  4. House Budget Committee.
  5. House Budget Committee.
  6. Democratic Policy Committee, 05/20/2004.
  7. Children's Defense Fund Action Council.
  8. OpenSecrets.Org.
  9. "BB&T to Acquire Nashville-Based Agency", Insurance Journal, 08/04/2003.
  10. BB&T.
  11. F.A.I.R. Medicare.
  12. Public Citizen, 02/13/2003.
  13. "Health costs skyrocket", CNN Money, 09/22/2003.
  14. "HMO profits jumped 52%", CBS Marketwatch, 05/04/2004.



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