Mike Leavitt Quotes (83 Quotes)

The only people that have been having problems have been the ones that have signed up late. A small number have encountered a wait.

One year later, we surveyed those people who had been added with limited coverage, and there were two schools of thought. One group was grateful, and the other said they needed more. But one year earlier, people were saying they had nothing.

The federal government can deliver stockpiles of medication and supplies to a city in the U.S. in a matter of hours, but it is distribution at the state and local level that defines victory,

We are very concerned about the public health issues,

Providing healthcare professionals and patients with clear and concise information about prescriptions will help ensure safe and optimal use of drugs, which translates into better health outcomes for patients and more efficient delivery of healthcare.

Avian flu or H5N1 is still primarily a disease among animals, ... Human deaths have been almost exclusively among humans who came into contact with infected birds. The virus has not shown itself to be easily transmitted from person to person and, unless it does, will not result in pandemic.

The entire nation is rallying to bring resources to the aid of this remarkable human tragedy ... this is a nationwide and remarkable response, ... we're all burdened at this poing with some limit of our situational knowledge of what's going on on the ground.

The only thing certain about a virus is uncertainty, and it can attack different populations and people.

In Southeast Asia, I will be negotiating agreements with the most-affected nations to offer assistance to build their capacity to identify outbreaks and respond rapidly when needed, ... We feel a common and genuine sense of urgency.

(This) is an insurance program like any other insurance program -- if you wait to just before you (need) it, it's more expensive. We need to help them know why it's important they do sign up.

Kennedy asked about reports that the administration planned deep cuts in Medicaid and Medicare and whether we're going to be squeezing and denying health benefits. ... It's always been my belief that we can expand the number of people we serve with the available resources.

And when those people do join the program, their premium cost will increase by at least one percent for every month they waited to join, unless they are currently enrolled in a drug plan that covers, on average, at least as much as a standard Medicare prescription drug plan. Like other insurance, you must pay this penalty as long as you have Medicare prescription drug coverage, ... Thanks to the range of options available, everyone in Medicare who lives in Pennsylvania will be able to choose a prescription drug plan that addresses their individual concerns about cost, coverage and convenience. For premiums that are in many cases much lower than expected, seniors will be able to get Medicare-approved prescription drug coverage that will help protect their health as well as their savings.

While there may be short term costs to us individually or collectively, the burden of being secretive and lacking transparency would be catastrophic,

The recommendations announced today will help more researchers conduct earlier, more-informed studies of promising treatments so patients have more rapid access to safer and more effective drugs.

There needs to be some heads that roll at the International Olympic Committee. They need to be expelled.

We did take a step forward in the process, ... Sometimes action isn't always yes and no. Sometimes it requires additional thought.

Starting today, October 24th, we're making influenza shots available to everyone, ... There's no reason for anyone to delay or go without their seasonal flu shot.

It's very difficult to know what went on in the Superdome because reports were so widespread and varied ... The health community was moving rapidly and successfully in being able to establish centers for health care and people received remarkable care under the circumstances.

Our nation has recently been focused on avian or bird flu and the threat it presents for a future worldwide pandemic, ... I want to emphasize that we do not have a human flu pandemic right now.

It's a world-changing event when it occurs, ... It reaches beyond health. It affects economies, cultures, politics and prosperity not to mention human life, counted by the millions.

The assurance of a decision by Sept. 1 came in a letter from Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), chairman of the committee that voted to endorse Crawford's appointment. I have spoken to the FDA, ... and, based on the feedback I have received, the FDA will act on this application by September 1, 2005.

Having more manufacturers of influenza vaccine licensed in the U.S., and having more vaccine dosages, is critical to public health,

It's become clear the demand of several hundred thousand evacuees leaving the state of Louisiana and Mississippi for other states will put significant stress on public medical capacity within major cities, and we're actively pursuing a strategy to bolster community health clinics in those areas.

These approvals will now allow those infected with HIV more access to these life-saving drugs within our country.

The International Olympic Committee has given me their personal assurance that they will be willing to work together to make sure these Games are successful, ... Another option is for us to rework or resize the Games in a way that will fit with the available resources.

We're not as well-prepared today as we want to be, ... We're better prepared than we were yesterday, and we'll continue to get better prepared every day as time goes forward.

Hard choices had to be made, and this budget reflects our effort to make those in the wisest way.

It's a situation that's ripe for counterfeiting. The WHO World Health Organization now indicates that counterfeit drug making is a 34 billiona-year industry. We're seeing it in many other instances.

This didn't start in Salt Lake, ... the beginning of a new history.

There will be help available locally and nationally to assist people in making a decision.

The incentives in our health care system are just wrong wrong for providers, wrong for payers, wrong for patients, ... Providers get paid on the basis of the quantity of the care they provide, not the quality of outcomes.

Anyone who thinks the federal government can come to the rescue at the last moment does not understand the complexities of this situation.

There are too many Americans that are without basic health insurance. And those that do have it are paying too much. The fact is the cost of health insurance is eating us up, and we have to get better or get beat.

We are committed to fix every problem as quickly as possible. Every day, we expect improvements. Many members have never had drug benefits. They're gaining the peace of mind knowing they have help to pay for their prescriptions.

As part of the goal to rebuild the vaccine manufacturing industry in America, ... we need to have the capacity to produce 300 million courses of a vaccine for any strain of a pandemic flu.

The health care needs in the region are immense, and we are working as quickly as we can to get the medical care and supplies to the people who so desperately need them, ... These facilities augment the medical services being provided and nearly 100 tons of supplies this Department has shipped already to the Gulf region. Additional shelters we will open in the coming days.

It is a triumph for collaborative science, ... This is a landmark achievement.

H5N1 is mostly an animal disease today. To stop it from spreading to humans, we have to stop it in birds,

We are working with our neighbors and friends from around the world to create a network of surveillance so that we can as quickly as possible determine when or if the virus becomes rapidly transmittable between humans.

What's the probability of (a pandemic) happening again during the next decade We don't know, but the warning signs are clearly troubling so troubling that no nation on Earth can afford to ignore this,

their critical involvement and personal commitment to preparedness and response.

It must be made absolutely clear that the actions of a few do not reflect the values, moral expectations or standards of behavior of this community and state. We deplore it, and we revolt at being associated with them,

Enrollment may start off slowly, but we're confident that over time seniors are going to like the benefit, ... It saves them money. It helps them stay healthy. And it gives them the peace of mind that they need so that they'll never have to worry about losing their savings to the high cost of prescription drugs.

Schools are fundamentally local creatures, and they need, while there is a national interest, and we need a national obsession with improvement of schools, it must not become a federal agenda.

There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve.

If you're a bird, it's a pandemic. If you're a human being, it's not.

We may be the first generation in human history with the ability to do something in advance of this.

Texas has been providing immediate and life-saving services to thousands of its neighbors in the wake of this disaster, and our nation is grateful,

We have all been touched by this tragedy and profound sadness, grief and anger are normal reactions that many people may experience, ... We want people to know that we have a nationwide team of crisis counseling experts available to help people through their grief and loss.

This is an important day, maybe the most important date since Medicare was put into law 40 years ago,