Second Annual Health Care Forum
September 25, 1997
*Note: The Governor sometimes deviates from text.
(Various salutations: John Felder, Verne Smith, Speaker Wilkins, assistant subcommittee heads)
So much has happened in South Carolina health care since we were here together last year. And I just want to thank each and every one of you for being our partner in such a phenomenal period of progress.
Today South Carolinians are healthier because of you. Children and families have better access to care. And the voice for good, quality health care is being heard...both here in South Carolina communities and on Capitol Hill.
But therešs so much good news to talk about, itšs hard to know where to start. Probably the best place is with John and Vernešs public hearings.
In a time of sweeping change industry-wide, their forums have been the sounding board...where providers and advocates for those too tired, or too sick, or too young, or too feeble to speak for themselves finally had a place to talk.
They shared problems and ideas...and we listened.
They asked for a simpler application. And we designed one.
They asked that childrenšs health care needs be met. And we announced the single largest health care expansion in the history of South Carolina...75,000 more children.
Isnšt it exciting that from this day forward, therešs not a child living in poverty in this state who will be denied health care coverage?
Itšs the direct result of partnership. We worked with the National Governors Association and our Congressional delegation. Our General Assembly unanimously helped us achieve the federal match. The South Carolina Childrenšs Hospital Collaborative and a more efficient Cabinet stepped in with extra funding.
Together wešve made it possible to pay for the preventive care children need to stay healthy.
Wešve even created new programs PEP and HOP and HMOs to offer consistent medical homes for children.
And we fought tooth and nail during federal budget talks for the funding to keep supporting hospitals taking care of our poor families.
Other public-private partnerships keep yielding amazing results...and this last year is no exception.
Wešre still number one in the nation for childhood immunizations.
And just last week we announced that our infant mortality rate is dropping faster than any other state in the nation.
Infant mortality is said to be one of the strongest indicators of a statešs public health. And if thatšs the case, wešre definitely moving in the right direction.
Itšs dropped over 10 percent in just one year...which means that 56 more babies over the last year lived to see their first birthday. Thatšs our lowest rate in state history!
All of these partnerships have been geared toward prevention...getting children into consistent medical homes...educating parents.
Even our work to educate children is focused in that direction. Our PASS Commission just issued its report...where it recommended a set of rigorous academic standards that every teacher and school child and parent can understand and follow...so that wešre creating an environment of excellence in every school. Thatšs a preventive strike for healthier, more prosperous communities in the future.
And prevention is the single most important health care focus of my administration. In fact, for every dollar we spend on immunization, we save upwards of $14.
And for about the same amount it costs to keep a child ONE day in the hospital, you could pay for an entire childhood of regular doctoršs care...all the way to age 20!
Youšre going to hear some more big numbers today from Dr. Gillespie. Hešs going to talk about billions of dollars...and the gigantic impact the health care industry has on South Carolinašs people and its economy.
But the real savings from prevention...the real impact of good care...has nothing to do with dollars and cents. Itšs about real life.
Behind the dollars we save are children we save from the pain of illness and disease...and families saved from heartbreak and loss. And therešs just no way to quantify that kind of savings on the bottom line.
But in the middle of all our good intentions to help families, letšs remember: Families also have to be willing to help themselves.
We can spend millions for every health program under the sun. We can have the best doctors, pharmacists and hospitals in the whole world. But if mom and dad donšt get their child through the doctoršs door, we havenšt gained a thing.
All our efforts boil down to the informed decisions of individuals. And wešve seen that reality borne out time and time again.
Thousands of people, individually deciding to use seat belts, have lowered injuries on our highways. Thousands of people, individually deciding not to drink and drive, have made our highways safer. Thousands of people, individually deciding to eat better and exercise, have made our communities healthier.
Parents can and must take the same kind of responsibility for their kids...because thatšs their job, not yours and not mine.
Every child in South Carolina deserves a parent who will choose to take that child to the doctor, get his shots, feed and care for him.
And every child needs a home where a strong and moral framework of protection is built up around him...by parents who commit to the bonds of marriage and commit to care for that child from the moment of conception.
Thatšs the only way we will ever truly restore the health of South Carolina...when we restore the health of families.
Youšve certainly made it a lot easier for parents to do right by their children, and I thank you for that.
Therešs better access and less red tape. Therešs better information out there. There are fewer barriers between children and the miracles of good health care.
A huge part of what got us here...and whatšs going to keep us moving in the right direction...has been hearing from you: from the folks providing care, those who need it and those who pay for it.
So Išd ask you to keep on sharing your ideas and insights.
Wešve still got a long way to go together. The stakes are huge and the rules are constantly changing. But Išm excited about meeting every one of those challenges.
Because when we look back on the thousands of miles wešve already traveled, wešve got no choice but to take heart for the journey ahead.