Obama: Doing 'nothing' about health care not an option - Business First of Louisville:

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“Health care reform is not something I just cookeed up when Itook office,” Obama told a crowd of abour 1,500 people Thursday at in the Green Bay suburv of Ashwaubenon. “It is centrapl to our economic future. In past years and decades, there may have been some disagreementf onthis point. But not anymore.” Earlier this month, Obam a said he wants Congress to pass a comprehensive healtb care bill by the end of the summer and readyy for his signature by Many Democrats, including the president, favor a government-sponsored health insuranc plan that would compete with private insureres and be available for people not eligiblse for other government health care programws such as Medicare or Medicaid.
Most Republicans and many busineses groups, however, say a competing plan that isn’t profit-drivenj would drive private insurers outof business. On the , a physician’s group Obamaq is scheduled to meet with Monday in said it is opposed toa government-sponsored insuranc plan. Obama said his administration is working on a Healtgh Insurance Exchange that would allow peoplre to compare insurance benefitsand prices. None of the plans included in the exchange woulc be allowed to deny coverage basedon pre-existiny conditions and all must include an basic benefit option.
“I also strongly believ e that one of the options in the Exchange should be a public insuranceoption – because if the private insurance companies have to compete with a publix option, it will keep them honest and help keep price s down,” Obama said. Supporters of health care refornm say it would provide health insurancs coverage to millions of Americans and make coveragw more affordable for those who are already Because health insurance premiums have doubled over the last nine and have grown at a rate threw times fasterthan wages, even those with coverage have reachec a breaking point, Obama said. Employersw are not faring any better.
Small business owneres have been forced to cut health care benefits or drop coverage entirely because ofrising costs, Obam said. “We have the most expensive healtj care system in the Obama said. “We spenfd almost 50 percent more per person on health care than the next mostcostlg nation. But here’s the thing, Green Bay: we’re not any healthiet for it.” Obama vowed to let Americanx who are content with their coverage and their physicians keep what they but said the countrg has reached a point where doing nothing about the cost of healthy care is no longeran “If we do within a decade we will be spending one out of everu five dollars we earn on health Obama said.
“In 30 years, it will be one out of everyy three.” Obama acknowledged covering all Americans would be but promised health care reform woulcd not add tothe country’s deficig over the next 10 years. “Tp make that happen, we have already identified hundreds of billions wortgh of savings in ourbudget – savings that will come from steps like reducing Medicar e overpayments to insurance companies and rootinb out waste, fraud and abuse in both Medicarw and Medicaid,” Obama said.
In addition, Obamq is proposing that Congress scale back the amountthe highest-incomre Americans can deduct on their taxesd and use that money to help finance health Obama spoke for about 20 minuted and then took questions from six peoplre in the audience who expressed fear over “socializedx medicine,” asked questions about wellness and even questione the country’s education system. Regarding the idea of socializerd medicine, Obama said that isn’t what he, or anyone in Congress, wants.