include only the health care related parts of the news briefing. -- Steve Freedkin , LIST.HEALTHPLAN Mgr.] THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release June 27, 1994 PRESS BRIEFING BY DEE DEE MYERS The Briefing Room 1:14 P.M. EST [...] Q Would the President accept a health plan that does not have mandates, that has only incentives? MS. MYERS: The President has made it very clear that what he expects and what he will sign is a plan that includes universal coverage. That is, guaranteed private insurance for every American. As he said many times, he's asked Congress -- he would look at a number of ways to get there, but it has to get to universal coverage. Q Well, what if it is incremental through incentives, through market forces, then a commission down the road by the year 2002, something along those lines? Just hypothetically. MS. MYERS: Just hypothetically, for example, certainly he has said that it could be phased-in over time, but it has to be within a reasonable amount of time and by a date-certain. The plan that he proposed, as you know, would have phased coverage in and had universal coverage by January 1, 1998. As for the other details, I think we'll have to wait and see what Congress produces. If the President is convinced that a plan produced by Congress through any number of means gets to universal coverage within a reasonable period of time by a date-certain, then he can sign it and will sign it. Q Does the President consider 95 percent coverage full coverage? MS. MYERS: We have not gotten into a debate about numbers or a discussion about percentages. What the President has said is he wants guaranteed private insurance for every American. We'll look at a number of ways to get there, and we'll, hopefully this year, sign a bill that gets us there. Q Has he talked to Senator Moynihan about the mark that the Senator hopes to ask the committee to propose? MS. MYERS: He certainly has talked to him throughout this process. I don't know whether he's talked to him in the last couple of days; not to my knowledge. Q Universal care: On Friday the President asked specifically by a KMOX interviewer if he was going for every American, and the President responded by saying, no, I'm saying universal care, that's what we're going for. He wouldn't buy into the 100 percent question. Is there a reason? Is there a discussion? MS. MYERS: Yes. I think the President and others of us here at the White House have worked hard to stay out of a debate about numbers. The President has said he'd look at a number of ways to get to universal care. His definition of universal care is guaranteed private insurance for every American. And beyond that, we're just not going to talk numbers. Q But isn't -- 100 percent -- I don't understand the distinction that you're making there. MS. MYERS: We're just not getting drawn into a debate about numbers. We're going to wait and see what Congress produces and have a debate about specifics once there's something to talk about. Q But he is standing on guaranteed private insurance for every American. MS. MYERS: That's what he's said repeatedly; that's what he said he would sign. Q What is it that prevents you from -- Q Dee Dee, there is that splitting semantical hairs. What did you mean by guaranteed private insurance for every American? Every American has to have it, or it's available if they want it? MS. MYERS: It has to be provided for. I mean, there's a difference -- that was the debate we had early on between making it available and making it -- guaranteeing that Americans have it. There is a difference. I think the President made it clear that this is not about making insurance just available through various plans. It has to be something that covers every American. Q So every American has to have insurance one way or another? MS. MYERS: That's what the President has laid out, yes. Q When you say that the only thing that you've really said that he has to have is universal coverage, and how you get there is open to question, are there, though, other aspects, particularly in the how you get there that are off limits -- for example, a tax increase or a levy on companies, like Moynihan is proposing. Is there any part of the way of getting there that is off limits? MS. MYERS: No, the President hasn't ruled anything out. As you know, there was a cigarette tax in his original plan. That's something that's been contemplated by others, including Senator Moynihan. But I think without seeing the entire package, the President has been unwilling to rule out any other specifics. Q Does the President believe that you can possibly get there without individual mandates and without employer mandates? MS. MYERS: Well, I think when the President produced his plan, it included an employer mandate because he believed that that was the best way to get to universal health care. Clearly there are other ways, but the President believed that a system that built on the system that we have, which is employer-based, was the best and least disruptive way to get to universal. Now, he has said at the time and since then that he would look at other ways. If somebody can produce another plan that gets us to universal, that provides guaranteed insurance for everyone, then he'll look at it. Q Dee Dee, are you insisting that the President have a plan and should have a plan ultimately that's very close to what Congress has? And can you talk about this issue of where you are saying, we hear this in debates all the time, that if Congress bogs down a health care bill, that they -- they're taking away from the American people what they have? I've heard this debate back and forth. MS. MYERS: I think I lost you somewhere on that question. Q The issue that if Congress should vote down a bill with universal coverage, then would you be saying -- subsequent to that, that Congress is, in effect, taking away from you, the American people, what they have? MS. MYERS: As a debating point? Q As a debating point in this thing. MS. MYERS: I don't think -- I think the President hopes and expects that Congress will pass a bill this year that gets us to universal coverage, and that he'll sign it, and that the rest is a moot point. Certainly he's made the point that members of Congress, members of this administration have guaranteed private insurance through their -- through our employment and that is paid for by taxpayers. It's a point that he made in his radio address on Saturday and last Friday as well. Q But you're not insisting that Congress vote precisely for the American people, what they have is coverage? MS. MYERS: No, what the President is asking is that Congress produce a plan that guarantees private insurance for every American. And beyond that, we'll look at the details as Congress is able to produce them. [...] Q Dee Dee, can I just nail down the five percent --if five percent of the American people do not have coverage, that is not universal coverage, is that correct? MS. MYERS: We're not talking percentages. I'm just not going to get drawn into a debate about numbers. Q What's the anathema there? MS. MYERS: I'm just not going to get drawn into a debate about numbers. Q 100 percent is 100 percent, isn't it? MS. MYERS: You all have used percentages, we have not. Q Does universal coverage mean 100 percent? Q What does that matter? MS. MYERS: I'm just not going to get drawn into a debate about numbers, Helen. Q Why? MS. MYERS: I don't think it's productive. Q When you say repeatedly that the President's bottom line is guaranteed private insurance for every American, every American would mean 100 percent of Americans, correct? MS. MYERS: You all can define that however you want. We define universal health care, and the President has repeatedly defined universal health care as guaranteed private insurance for every American. If you all want a different definition, you are free to write it, but that is our definition and that is what we're going to say. Q Can you give us your definition of every American? MS. MYERS: Every American. Q Dee Dee, by leaving us -- MS. MYERS: You guys can try every which way you want to get me to put a number on it, and I'm not going to do it. I think that much is clear. Q But you realize, of course, that by not saying that 100 percent is every American -- every American means 100 percent, you're leaving open the option of 95 percent being interpreted as universal coverage. MS. MYERS: You all interpret -- what the President wants and expects that Congress will produce is a bill that provides private insurance for every American. Q Just not to try to force you to put a number on this, but the President -- MS. MYERS: That's exactly what you're trying to do. Q I'm not going to try -- the President's bill does not envision covering illegal aliens. So the President's bill -- coverage that there will be less than 100 percent of Americans unless he doesn't consider illegal aliens Americans. MS. MYERS: I don't think by most definitions that they are. Q Well, then, my next question is, when he says private insurance for all Americans, the President's bill envisioned a good chunk of Americans be covered by public insurance, correct? Medicare, Medicaid -- MS. MYERS: Sure. Q Okay. So not every American has to have private insurance. MS. MYERS: We've long said that that's our definition of guaranteed private insurance for every American. I guess I'll have to -- let me think about that question, because clearly there are people who are provided for through government-sponsored programs. Q And more and more of them will be under this -- MS. MYERS: Some -- people will have -- there will be certainly expanded coverage, but I don't know if it necessarily means that they'll all receive it through the public sector. [...] [SEVERAL QUESTIONS WERE ASKED ABOUT HOW THE PRESIDENT SPENDS HIS WEEKENDS AT CAMP DAVID, LEADING TO THIS EXCHANGE:] Q Does he smoke? Cigars? MS. MYERS: Does he smoke? (Laughter.) No. He does not. He doesn't light them, although he does enjoy -- Q Does enjoy what? MS. MYERS: He has been known to chew on one from time to time. Q He doesn't inhale. Q Cigars. Q He doesn't even ignite. MS. MYERS: So many creative minds in such a small room. [...] Q Have you decided yet on the schedule whether there will be a congressional leadership meeting at the White House this week, or have any other meetings been added with members of health care -- MS. MYERS: I think I said today that there would be a meeting with members of Congress about G-7 at some point this week. And beyond that nothing to announce. [...] Q Several of the medical leaders today said that they thought the 95 percent coverage would not be sufficient for health care, that it would perpetuate many of the same problems we have now in the system, and a lot of the burden would still be left on them for taking care of the uninsured. Does the White House agree with that assessment? MS. MYERS: Well, again, without discussing specific numbers, one of the things that the President is concerned about is leaving millions or tens of millions of Americans without insurance, which would continue to result in cost-shifting, in poor people receiving their care through the government, rich people always being able to afford to buy their care, the middle class being uncovered, which will drive up rates for everybody else. And it will continue to, I think, lead to many of the problems that we see in the health insurance market today. So that's something that the President's very concerned about. Q Dee Dee, I understand your reluctance from the podium to discuss what the White House will and won't accept on health care. But can you talk a little bit about the process that involves White House officials as these different committees work on different proposals. Are you running their numbers through your models? Or what is the interaction going on behind the scenes at this point? MS. MYERS: Yes, we're providing whatever technical assistance that members of Congress need as they draft proposals, whether it's check numbers through economic models or other things. Certainly, there have been a number of discussions between members of the White House staff and the health care team and members of Congress. What, I think, we haven't gotten involved in is the specific committee process which is moving along and, certainly, both the education committees in both the House and Senate have already produced bills. I think Ways and Means is getting close. With Chairman Moynihan's leadership, Senate Finance is making good progress. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Q But you're not able to react to any of the proposals that have come through these committees? MS. MYERS: Yes, we're just not commenting on specifics, particularly the specifics of proposals that haven't even been completely drafted. Q Forgive me. You have suggested that we can define words any way we want to, but it seems to me the essence of -- MS. MYERS: No, I should suggest that you probably will. Q May I please? The essence of communication is that, God forbid, words have universal meanings. And when you say something, "every American," we hear "every American," and we don't hear an asterisk. And we're trying to find out where the asterisk is and why the President made a distinction on Friday about it, and why you seem to be making one now. MS. MYERS: I'm not making -- I refuse to make a distinction. I refuse to get drawn into a debate about numbers. What we have said and what we continue to say is "every American." And I think that statement speaks for itself. I have said it a thousand times from this podium. Q That is the read my lips, that's the bottom line. That's the veto. MS. MYERS: I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to put a number on it, and I'm not going to say, read my lips -- Q Nobody's asking for numbers. MS. MYERS: I think the President made it very clear in the State of the Union address what his bottom line was. We've continued to make it clear. You all want me to put a number on it. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to make policy from this podium. Q I don't want any numbers. I want to get a sort of yes or no, if I could get it. We think it was clear. We think we understood it. And we think when the time comes when he puts his signature or veto on it, it will be because this is or isn't what we think we understood. Is that a fair, is that fair to ask -- MS. MYERS: I don't think -- I don't have any idea what you just meant by what you said. (Applause.) Q The art of communication, Frank, do it again. (Laughter.) Q Why do we have to define words that we both know what they mean? MS. MYERS: I've made it very clear what our bottom line is -- insurance for every American. If anybody has a question about anything else, I'm happy to take it. [...] THE PRESS: Thank you. END 1:42 P.M. EDT