Remarks on the national economy and a question-and-answer session in Maryland Heights, Missouri

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 5, 2008

I'll tell you an interesting story about that. The Veterans Administration in New Orleans was clobbered during Katrina. And so you had a lot of veterans leaving the New Orleans area--many of them going to Houston, for example--but they had electronic medical records. It turns out, the Veterans Affairs is generally ahead of the rest of the field. And all they did was take their chip and they plugged it into the computers in Houston, and the whole medical records was available. That's--not only it's good for the customer, the patient, but what I'm telling you is, it'll help wring out the inefficiencies in the system. Health care is an inefficient system right now.

And finally--it's a long answer, sorry. [Laughter] I've thought a lot about it. [Laughter] I've analyzed what's best on how to deal with this. It's a very--it's a tough issue for you, and it's a tough issue for small businesses. It's a tough issue. But one of the cost drivers, just so you know, is lawsuits. And if you're an attorney, I don't mean to be stepping on your toe. Well, everybody needs a good attorney, you know--particularly me, since I'm getting sued all the time. But it's a--[laughter]--I think I am.

If you're a doctor and you're afraid you're going to get sued, you practice additional medicine. It's called defensive medicine. You prescribe tests and procedures and perhaps medications that really may not be necessary, but are necessary if you're getting sued, and the suit could drive you out of business. I-and therefore, I'm a big believer in medical liability reform. If you've got an egregious suit, you should be able to take it to the courthouse.

But it's these junk lawsuits that are doing two things around America. They're running good doctors out of practice. I mean, people say, "I can't afford liability insurance," and when they can, they're going to pass it on to you in higher bills. But since you're not paying the bills, somebody else is, it's okay by you. The problem is it's part of a cost driver. It's making medicine more expensive than it should be.

I really think, at the core of this issue, America has got to be very careful about what kind of health care system to embrace. It's essential that we not undermine private medicine. If you really think about the health care advances in America relative to the rest of the world, they've been phenomenal. And to me it's that entrepreneurial spirit that's important to maintain on the kind of forefront here in America, and at the same time, make sure we've got a rational approach to health care. There's a long answer to a short question.

Any other questions?

Yes, sir. Everybody gets nervous. I used to hate to ask questions in class. [Laughter] Then they'd call on me. [Laughter]

Domestic Agenda/War on Terror

Q. I have a statement and a question. The President. Okay.

Q. First of all, I want to thank you for encouraging World Wide to sell more CISCO equipment. [Laughter] As an employee at CISCO, we greatly appreciate it.

The President. Yes. There's a marketing genius. [Laughter] The guy has got the national TV cameras on him, and he's going to leave here on his cell phone and say, "Hey, boss, did you see me on C-SPAN?" [Laughter]