[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 14, 1994 * We would like to call your attending to the winter edition of the Brookings Review. In an article titled: "Getting it Right on Health Care Reform", senior fellow Joshua Weiner writes that while much attention has been focused on the President's plan, far less attention has been given to competing proposals. He writes: "The key policy question is whether these other proposals offer something superior to the administration proposal. The short answer is that while the president's plan is not flawless, it certainly beats the alternatives, whether or liberal or conservative." * He continues: "In the area of cost containment, these more conservative plans reject the administrations global budgets and regulatory measures and rely exclusively on market mechanisms to control costs. Yet most of the market mechanisms on which they rely -- community rating, uniform contributions by employers to health plans, standardized benefit packages, and increased information to consumers about the cost and quality of health plans -- are already in the president's plan. If these are sufficient, the president's plan will control costs without using regulatory powers, only the president's proposal has a backup system." * Yesterday, a group of economists, composed mostly of conservatives and Republicans, tried to spin a hollow story that the Health Security Act contains price controls. It doesn't. Price controls call for government micro-management of every health care service, drug technology, and product. The President considered, but specifically rejected, a plan imposing price controls on health care. The President's 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. Called for comment by the AP, Brookings Institute fellow Barry Bosworth said it was "...misleading" and "I don't see how economists (can) oppose the basic idea of a budget limit on something. That's what we teach people." * The economists said that the threat of price controls had already led to reduced spending by drug companies on research and development. That's not true either. Yesterday, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association said its member companies will spend $13.8 billion on research and development in 1994, up from $12.6 billion in 1993.