First Lady speaks on health care

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed a crowd of 3,500 health care workers Friday in the Civic Center, as part of her day trip to Philadelphia. Her speech and subsequent question-and-answer session focused on President Bill Clinton's health care plan, which would guarantee health care to all citizens. Clinton's speech was based on three questions presented by former U.S. Surgeon General and University Professor Emeritus C. Everett Koop, who also acted as moderator for the question-and-answer session. "The Health Security Act promotes comprehensive and accessible health care for all Americans, including children with disabilities and special health needs," the First Lady said. "[It will] ensure that a choice for care arrangements are available at a community level for all individuals." The package will also "have national standards developed" to assure all children -- including disabled children -- of uniform and affordable benefits, regardless of income, she added. Clinton said this package will be coordinated with other current care programs for children. For instance, Clinton and Koop said a disturbing statistic indicates that while disabled children are twice as likely to be insured than non-disabled children, 500,000 disabled children are currently uninsured. According to the First Lady, President Clinton's plan may be a solution to this problem. "We believe that the Health Security Act gives us an opportunity to re-invent public health and public health agencies at both the federal and state levels," she said. Clinton also thanked several local politicians in her speech, including Senator Harris Wofford (D-Pa.) who she called an "unabashed advocate for getting the job done," Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) who she said is "very interested in maternal and child heath care," and Representative Lucien Blackwell (D-Phila.) who said she "has been with me every step of the way in Philadelphia." Audience members lined up to ask the First Lady a variety of questions, ranging from how they could counter special interest groups who oppose the Clinton plan to the roll of schools in health promotion and disease prevention. Clinton summed up her point by saying the U.S. has the "finest physicians and nurses in the world, with the stupidest financing program for health care."