Health Care Reform Update

DOUBLE STANDARD? -- The President and Congress and its staff may not be required to enroll in the new health care system proposed by President Clinton. Concerns that taxpayers would see the exemptions as a double standard have spawned several bills that would prevent lawmakers from exempting themselves from the health care system it imposes on the rest of the country.

UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS -- Some illegal aliens may receive health care under President Clinton's health-reform plan, and the administration will not aggressively attempt to root them out, says the president's top health adviser. Although the plan is designed to exclude undocumented immigrants from comprehensive health coverage, the administration has set aside funds to reimburse hospitals that care for them, says Ira Magaziner, director of the administration's health-care task force.

"Undocumented people today are eligible for emergency services, pregnancy-related services, and are serviced by community health centers and hospitals. That system will continue," he says.

CRIME -- Handgun controls and anti-crime measures are a necessary part of revamping the nation's health system because hospitals are overburdened with "people cut up and shot," President Clinton said yesterday.

"Homicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 15 to 25, and more of our teen-age boys die from gunshots now than any other cause," he said.