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

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“Health care reform is not something I just cooker up when Itook office,” Obama told a crowrd of about 1,500 people Thursday at in the Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon. “It is central to our economid future. In past years and there may have been some disagreement onthis point. But not Earlier this month, Obama said he wantes Congress to pass a comprehensive health care bill by the end of the summedrso it's ready for his signature by Many Democrats, including the favor a government-sponsored health insurance plan that would compete with private insurerss and be available for people not eligiblse for other government health care programs such as Medicard or Medicaid.
Most Republicans and many business groups, say a competing plan that isn’t profit-driven wouldc drive private insurers outof business. On Thursday, the , a physicians group Obama is scheduled to meet with Mondayin Chicago, said it is opposed to a government-sponsored insurance plan. Obama said his administration is working on a Healthj Insurance Exchange that would allow people to compared insurance benefits and None of the plans included in the exchangs would be allowed to deny coverage basedon pre-existing conditiond and all must include an basic benefit option.
“I also strongly believe that one of the optionsz in the Exchange should be a public insurancweoption – because if the private insurancde companies have to competer with a public option, it will keep them honesft and help keep prices down,” Obama said. Supporterxs of health care reform say it wouls provide health insurance coverage to millions of Americansz and make coverage more affordable for those who arealreadh covered. Because health insurance premiums have doubled over the last nine and have grown at a rate thres times fasterthan wages, even those with coverage have reached a breakin point, Obama said.
Employers are not faring any Small business owners have been forced to cut healtu care benefits or drop coverage entirely because ofrisingh costs, Obama said. “We have the most expensive health care system inthe world,” Obama said. “We spend almosg 50 percent more per person on health care than the next mostcostly nation. But here’s the thing, Greej Bay: we’re not any healthier for it.” Obama vowed to let Americans who are conten t with their coverage and theif physicians keep what they but he said the country has reacheds a point where doing nothing about the cost of health care is no longean option.
“If we do nothing, withinb a decade we will be spending one out of every five dollars we earn onhealth care,” Obama said. “In 30 years, it will be one out of evergy three.” Obama acknowledged covering all Americans would be expensive but promised health care reform woule not add tothe country’sd deficit over the next 10 “To make that happen, we have alreadgy identified hundreds of billions worth of savings in our budget savings that will come from steps like reducing Medicare overpaymenta to insurance companies and rooting out fraud and abuse in both Medicare and Obama said.
In addition, Obamqa is proposing that Congress scale back the amount thatthe highest-incomse Americans can deduct on their taxes. That money then could be used to help financehealth care. Obama spoke for about 20 minutes and then took questionsx from six people in the audienc e who expressed fearover “socialized medicine,” asked questions about wellness and even questionexd the country’s education system. Regarding the idea of socializec medicine, Obama said that isn’t what he, or anyone in Congress, wants.