President rejects health care proposal
By Kevin Freking, Associated Press Mar 14, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration on Wednesday rejected key recommendations from a citizens' group asked by Congress to find out people's health care wishes.

Suggestions included guaranteeing health coverage for specific checkups and treatments and protecting consumers from high medical expenses. The group released its report Sept. 29 after hearing from about 6,500 people at 84 meetings.

President Bush agrees with many of the goals, but differs on how to achieve them, according to a letter from Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The group "chose an approach based on mandates and government intervention rather than an approach emphasizing consumer choice and options," Leavitt said.

Congress created the task force when it established a drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. The group's 15 members represented consumers, the disabled, business, organized labor and health care providers.

The task force called for a guaranteed package of health benefits for everyone. It urged creation of an independent, nonpartisan group to select those benefits, such as an annual breast cancer exam or physical.

The group did not answer the hard question of how the government should pay for the benefits, but said people believe that there is enough money to make the changes. The group said the government should first transfer money from other programs to pay for the benefits.

Leavitt said the administration agrees it is important to make health care more affordable and expand insurance coverage. But he disagreed with the concept of a national commission to define coverage.

"A nationally determined set of core health benefits would place important decision-making about a person's health care in the control of federal appointees, rather than allowing the consumer to choose the benefits that best meet their needs," Leavitt said.

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, came up with the idea for the group. Wyden said he believes that lawmakers are more willing to work together on health care than they have been in many years.

"We're seeing real signs that members of Congress want to fix health care," he said.

But he said he was disappointed with the administration's response to the report.