[THE FOLLOWING IS THE PERIODIC BRIEFING ON HEALTH-CARE REFORM SENT OUT BY THE WHITE HOUSE TO SUPPORTERS OF ITS PROGRAM, INCLUDING ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND OTHERS. IT PROVIDES AN "INSIDE LOOK" AT HOW THE WHITE HOUSE IS PROMOTING ITS PLAN. THESE BRIEFINGS WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE SUBJECT: HEALTH CARE REFORM TODAY , SO YOU MAY EASILY SKIP THEM IF YOU DON'T WISH TO READ THEM. -- Steve Freedkin , LIST.HEALTHPLAN Administrator] The White House Health Care Reform Today January 12, 1994 * In effort oddly reminiscent of the health insurance industry's scare tactic campaign, the ultra-conservative Cato Institute is planning to release a misleading letter from economists criticizing the Health Security Act for relying on cost controls. First, remember that the letter only criticizes one part of the plan. Second, remember that premium caps are not price controls; in fact, a number of alternative proposals in Congress, and several industrial countries, use similar constraints to put some check on spiraling costs. Third, many similar cost control mechanisms were proposed and implemented in Medicare and Medicaid under Reagan and Bush. * Again, we have considered -- but specifically rejected -- a policy imposing price controls on health care. Our primary strategy for cost containment is private sector competition -- creating the right economic incentives to bring costs in line and encourage health plans to compete on price and quality. * We strongly believe that, regardless of how quickly or how firmly competitive reforms take hold, we need to build some discipline and certainty into our system -- so that businesses and consumers know that their health insurance premiums will not be allowed to suddenly spiral out of control one year, and that the federal government will not spend without accountability. That is why we reinforce the competitive system with a limit on health care premium increases. * In contrast to our plan, price controls call for government micro-management of every health care service, drug, technology and product. Price controls would have the government substitute its views for the markets in hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of decisions. We reject that type of micro-management in favor of letting a market that truly competes work. * Lane Kirkland, President of the AFL-CIO said yesterday the feeling among working class Americans is that there is a health care crisis and those who say there isn't aren't in touch. He said: "They may not have a health care crisis, but we do and we see it." He pledged to commit "...whatever it takes" to fight for the President's health reforms."