THE LEDGER-STAR
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020535
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
The new chairman of the House Commerce Committee wants to perform major surgery on Medicaid and rein in the Food and Drug Administration.
Rep. Thomas J. Bliley, Jr., R-Va., told an industry group Wednesday he also will push for making health insurance portable, for medical malpractice legal reforms and creation of medical savings accounts.
``If we are to reach the goal of a balanced budget, major changes must be made in the Medicaid program,'' Bliley told the National Committee for Quality Health Care, a coalition of leaders from such industry groups as Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories and the Voluntary Hospitals of America. He added that ``surgery, not amputation'' is called for.
``Medicaid is out of sync with the rest of the health care system,'' he said. ``There are no incentives for beneficiaries to receive primary and preventive care.''
Bliley charged that the FDA had lost sight of its principal mission. ``The focus should be on the consumer ... not the Washington bureaucrat,'' he said. by CNB