Q&A: Interview with US health secretary
Updated: 2007-12-10 17:24
Li Xing:I have read through netizens questions and some of them are concerned, because they say China cannot really take all the blame. There are differences and there are gaps between standards set in America and set in China. And also because this is really an ongoing thing. I mean the United States is upgrading the standards and China may lag behind. So how do you bridge the differences?
Michael Leavitt: Well I think the most important thing is to realize that the reason much of this is happening is because things are changing. We need to upgrade and improve the system. And that's what these agreements are aimed at, finding ways to continually improve our relationship and our systems. It's also important to acknowledge that the systems in the United States aren't perfect. And that we're doing our best to learn how to improve our systems, while we work with China to understand how to best work with China. And I think another important thing is that there are countries all over the world struggling with this same thing because the world has changed. There's now much more global commerce, where in the past we've just been dealing with our own countries and a little bit outside. Now we deal a lot with other countries and the system has to migrate to change to accommodate it.
Li Xing: How do you value the health care for children?
Michael Leavitt:Well I not only have five children, I have three grandchildren.
Li Xing:Oh! Well, congratulations.
Michael Leavitt:Thank you. Of course we want children in the United States to have the care that they need. In fact, we're working right now to reauthorize part of our law called the Children's Health Insurance Program. It's a program that's designed to make sure that children who are in low-income situations have adequate insurance.
Li Xing: We read that in America, actually the people who are uninsured are from working-class families.
Michael Leavitt: Well that would be true I think not just in the United States but unfortunately around the world. One thing about the United States that's not often understood and that is that everyone gets health care. If a child is ill, or if a family member is sick and they don't have health insurance, they can go to a community health center and get very good assistance. And if they have a problem that can't be dealt with there, they're referred to a hospital. The cost of that is…
Li Xing: Is higher, right?
Michael Leavitt: Is generally higher, but it's borne by the government. The government pays for the health care costs of people who don't have insurance in many cases. So when we say they don't have insurance, that's true, but people in the United States who have health care needs receive it. We need to change our financing system so they have health insurance and they don't have to rely on the charitable system that's in place.
Li Xing: When you were governor of Utah, you actually worked very hard on improving the health care within the state, and I read it that you were able to cut medical expenses by 25 percent.
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