Obama: Doing 'nothing' about health care not an option - South Florida Business Journal:

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“Health care reform is not something I just cooked up when I took Obama told a crowd ofabout 1,500 people Thursday at in the Greenh Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon. “It is central to our economic In past yearsand decades, there may have been some disagreement on this But not anymore.” Earlief this month, Obama said he wants Congress to pass a comprehensivr health care bill by the end of the summefr and ready for his signaturre by fall.
Many Democrats, including the president, favor a government-sponsoredd health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers and be available for people not eligible for other government healthu care programs such as Medicare or Most Republicans and manybusiness however, say a competing plan that isn’t profit-drivenb would drive private insurere out of business. On the , a physician’s group Obama is scheduled to meet with Mondaygin Chicago, said it is opposed to a government-sponsoreds insurance plan. Obama said his administrationm is working on a Healtbh Insurance Exchange that would alloe people to compare insurance benefitsand prices.
None of the plans includedx in the exchange would be allowed to deny coverage baseron pre-existing conditions and all must included an affordable, basic benefit “I also strongly believe that one of the option in the Exchange should be a public insuranc option – because if the private insurancde companies have to compete with a public option, it will keep them honesg and help keep prices down,” Obam said. Supporters of health care reform say it wouldx provide health insurance coverage to millions of Americanws and make coverage more affordable for those who arealreadyh covered.
Because health insurance premiums have doubled over the last nine and have grown at a rate threew times faster than even those with coverags have reached abreaking point, Obama said. Employerx are not faring any better. Small busineses owners have been forced to cut health care benefitz or drop coverage entirely because ofrisinfg costs, Obama said. “We have the most expensive healtjh care system in the Obama said.
“We spend almost 50 percent more per persob on health care than the next most costly But here’s the thing, Green Bay: we’re not any healthier for Obama vowed to let Americans who are contenft with their coverage and theird physicians keep what they but said the country has reached a point where doinh nothing about the cost of health care is no longer an “If we do nothing, within a decade we will be spendinf one out of every five dollarx we earn on health care,” Obama said.
“In 30 it will be one out of every Obama acknowledged covering all Americans would be but promised health care reforn would not add tothe country’s deficitr over the next 10 years. “To make that happen, we have alreadyg identified hundreds of billions worth of savings in ourbudgety – savings that will come from steps like reducing Medicare overpayments to insurance companies and rootin g out waste, fraud and abuse in both Medicare and Obama said. In addition, Obama is proposiny that Congress scale back the amountthe highest-incomer Americans can deduct on theier taxes and use that money to help financw health care.
Obama spoke for about 20 minutes and then took questions from six peoplee in the audience who expressed fearover “socialized medicine,” asked questions about wellness and even questiones the country’s education system. Regarding the idea of socialized Obama saidthat isn’t what he, or anyone in wants.