[THIS IS THE PERIODIC BRIEFING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO ITS OFFICIALS AND OTHER SUPPORTERS OF ITS HEALTH-REFORM PROGRAM. IT PROVIDES AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE ADMINISTRATION IS PROMOTING ITS PLAN. THIS ITEM WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE SAME SUBJECT LINE (WITH DIFFERENT DATES) SO YOU CAN EASILY SKIP IT IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ IT.] The White House Health Care Reform Today January 5, 1994 * In order to move forward on the President's domestic agenda, comprehensive health care reform must be passed in 1994. Today, millions of welfare recipients stay on Medicaid or return to welfare to avoid losing health benefits for themselves and their children. Thus, the proposals being drafted by the President's working group on welfare are specifically designed to complement health reform. * The President's welfare reform plan will include initiatives to prevent teen pregnancy, ensure that parents fulfill their child support obligations, and try to keep people from going on welfare in the first place. People who can work will be required to do so after two years of receiving welfare benefits, either in the private sector or community service. This will include providing education, training, and job search and placement for those who need it. * Comprehensive health reform will eliminate so-called "Medicaid lock" and enable people to seek jobs, secure in the knowledge that they and their children will be covered. By ensuring universal coverage, the Health Security Act provides the necessary foundation for welfare reform. * A recent poll conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Gallup Organization, reported in the January 10th issue of Business Week, that 75% of Americans felt that guaranteed health insurance was more important than having unlimited choice of physicians. The study further indicated that on average, Americans would be willing to pay $227 a year in added taxes for a guarantee that they and their families would never be without health benefits, and $169 more a year to guarantee that all Americans have health coverage. * According to the poll, 20% of Americans say that they or a family member have passed up a job opportunity or stayed in a particular job specifically to retain health care benefits. 11% reported that they or a family member had been denied health care insurance because of a medical condition. The President's Health Security Act would provide health care that could never be taken away...not if you change jobs or if you have a pre-existing condition.