Word: bowens
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...term Governor of Indiana before getting the HHS post, Bowen is not without political acumen, and he thought he had President Reagan's support for his new campaign. Not only has Reagan expressed sympathy for families with crushing medical burdens, he has also seen some of the consequences. Press Secretary James Brady, shot down by would-be Presidential Assassin John Hinckley, still needs considerable medical care, and his wife calls the costs for such care a "national problem crying for a solution." In the State of the Union message last February, the President formally asked Bowen "to address the problems...
...Bowen's plan, which combines outright aid for major medical costs with a series of tax incentives for broader private insurance coverage, is no more than a very modest step. Only about 2% of Medicare patients would actually require extended benefits, according to one estimate. Most important, the proposal would not underwrite nursing-home bills, which now cost 1.4 million Americans an average of $22,000 a year each, with only about 2% of that expense covered by private insurance. Other important costs that are not covered, says John Rother of the American Association of Retired Persons: "Outpatient prescription drugs...
...Government officials charged with holding down deficit spending, this all sounds like a familiar cry for a piece of the federal pie. Though Bowen argues that his plan will be self-financing, the Reagan budget cutters are concerned that Congress may start adding benefits to the basic formula. They also remember the original estimates that Government payments for kidney dialysis would cost only a couple of hundred million dollars; actual payments have grown to $2 billion...
Attorney General Edwin Meese is reported to be firmly opposed to Bowen's idea, and so is James Miller III, head of the Office of Management and Budget. "We have the standard reservation against more Government programs," says an OMB aide. "Let the private sector do it. Also, parts of the Bowen plan rely on new tax incentives. We have just closed major loopholes in tax reform, and now here come some new loopholes." To Beryl Sprinkel, chairman of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers, Bowen's plan is "inconsistent with the Administration's policies to restrain the growth...
...relish being bashed around," says Bowen, but he adds, "I'm not a quitter. If I believe in something, I want to give it my best shot." Bowen has recently made two appearances before Reagan's domestic-policy council, and last week he again took his sheaves of facts and figures to the White House. $ Reagan was a sympathetic listener. "We all know somebody who's been hit by something like this," the President said. "It's simply not fair that middle- class people can be wiped out financially by an unfortunate health problem." But Bowen's numerous critics were...