CBS Evening News open - 1993-04-05

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] It's too much. I I don't even take my

[0:05] kids to the doctor anymore cuz it's too

[0:07] much.

[0:08] Are Americans willing to pay even higher

[0:10] taxes for healthcare reform? A new CBS

[0:14] News poll has the answer, and it might

[0:16] surprise you.

[0:17] Baseball's opening day brings a lefty, a

[0:20] protest, and two new teams. We'll have a

[0:22] complete report. An eye on America.

[0:25] Tonight, a CBS News investigation. What

[0:28] happens when the cure causes more

[0:30] trouble than the disease?

[0:32] I don't think

[0:34] that people should refuse radiation out

[0:37] of fear, but I believe

[0:39] that people should be aware of what has

[0:42] happened to me.

[0:46] This is the CBS Evening News.

[0:53] I'm Connie Chung sitting in for Dan

[0:55] Rather. Good evening. If you're worried

[0:57] sick about healthcare in America, you

[0:59] already know you have plenty of company.

[1:01] Our newest poll shows just how far your

[1:04] fellow Americans are willing to go and

[1:06] pay for healthcare reform. And as Linda

[1:09] Douglas reports, the White House is now

[1:10] trying to prove how fast it's willing to

[1:13] go.

[1:15] The White House said today President

[1:16] Clinton's sweeping health reform plan

[1:18] will be ready next month. Though task

[1:21] force chair Hillary Clinton was not out

[1:23] in public today, she is back on the job

[1:25] in Washington after 2 weeks at her

[1:27] father's bedside. That health reform is

[1:29] again moving full speed ahead will be

[1:31] good news to Americans. Just listen.

[1:34] >> Doctors overcharge, price prescription

[1:36] drugs, treatments, operations,

[1:38] everything is so expensive.

[1:39] >> It's too much. I I don't even take my

[1:41] kids to the doctor anymore cuz it's too

[1:43] much.

[1:44] >> The insurers cost too much, the doctors

[1:46] charge too much, the pharmaceutical

[1:47] companies charge too much. Americans

[1:49] urgently want to solve the healthcare

[1:51] crisis. It is one of their highest

[1:53] priorities.

[1:54] Of the issues confronting the country

[1:56] right now, which do you think is most

[1:57] important, reducing the deficit or

[1:59] getting some healthcare reform?

[2:00] >> Healthcare reform.

[2:02] >> Healthcare reform.

[2:03] >> Well, uh health is the primary thing in

[2:05] life.

[2:06] >> In fact, according to a CBS News New

[2:08] York Times poll taken last week, much of

[2:11] America feels the same way. Reforming

[2:13] healthcare is more important than

[2:15] reducing the deficit. Would you be

[2:16] willing to pay higher taxes for uh a

[2:19] system of healthcare reform?

[2:20] >> Yes, I would. You know, you have to

[2:22] help. You have to make a sacrifice. The

[2:24] poll shows most Americans would be

[2:26] willing to pay higher taxes for

[2:28] healthcare reform, and they support some

[2:30] government regulation. Almost 3/4 want

[2:33] caps on doctors' fees, but doctors are

[2:35] lobbying against price controls.

[2:37] >> They're trying to make as much money as

[2:39] they can right now. That's what I think.

[2:41] >> That's what most Americans think. 57% of

[2:44] those polled say fees are high because

[2:46] doctors just want to make money.

[2:48] Though people criticize doctors as a

[2:50] group, most think well of their own

[2:52] doctor, but a majority of those polled

[2:54] would be willing to give up their own

[2:55] doctor if they could be guaranteed

[2:57] health coverage regardless of the

[2:59] circumstances. The public is clamoring

[3:01] for a solution. Start over. Start

[3:03] everything from a clean slate. The poll

[3:06] shows the public believes President

[3:07] Clinton will deliver real healthcare

[3:09] reform, but he must sell his plan first.

[3:12] A full-blown campaign is being

[3:14] organized, supported by the Democratic

[3:16] Party, financed by Hollywood fat cats

[3:18] and others, and run by the team that put

[3:21] Mr. Clinton in the White House. Linda

[3:23] Douglas, CBS News, Washington.

[3:26] You don't have to sell most people on

[3:28] the fact that America has the highest

[3:30] quality healthcare on Earth, but other

[3:32] countries are better at delivering

[3:34] medical coverage to citizens in need.

[3:36] Take Germany, for example. Correspondent

[3:38] Tom Fenton reports on healthcare over

[3:40] there.

[3:47] It's a common nightmare. It can happen.

[3:49] Got to have an accident, road accident.

[3:51] Your car is smashed up on the highway.