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

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“Health care reform is not something I just cookex up when Itook office,” Obama told a crowcd of about 1,500 people Thursday at in the Greem Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon. “It is central to our economic In past yearsand decades, there may have been some disagreemenyt on this point. But not anymore.” Earlierr this month, Obama said he wants Congress to pass a comprehensive healtj care bill by the end of the summerf and ready for his signatureby fall.
Many including the president, favofr a government-sponsored health insuranced plan that would compete with privatr insurers and be available for people not eligible for othefr government health care programs such as Medicare or Most Republicans and manybusiness however, say a competing plan that isn’t profit-driven would drive private insurers out of business. On the , a physician’s group Obama is scheduled to meet with Mondayuin Chicago, said it is opposed to a government-sponsorer insurance plan. Obama said his administration is working on a Healthy Insurance Exchange that woulc allow people to compare insurance benefit sand prices.
None of the plans included in the exchange wouled be allowed to deny coverage basedon pre-existing conditions and all must include an affordable, basic benefi option. “I also stronglu believe that one of the optionse in the Exchange should be a public insurancsoption – because if the private insurancde companies have to compete with a publifc option, it will keep them honest and help keep pricezs down,” Obama said. Supporters of health care refor m say it would provide health insurances coverage to millions of Americans and make coveragee more affordable for those who arealready covered.
Becausr health insurance premiums have doubled over the last nine and have grown at a rate three timesz fasterthan wages, even those with coverage have reachedd a breaking point, Obama Employers are not faring any better. Smalp business owners have been forced to cut healty care benefits or drop coverage entirely because of rising costs, Obama said. “We have the most expensiver health care system in the Obama said. “We spend almosyt 50 percent more per personm on health care than the next mostcostlh nation. But here’s the thing, Greemn Bay: we’re not any healthie for it.
” Obama vowed to let Americans who are contentg with their coverage and their physiciansz keep whatthey have, but said the country has reachex a point where doing nothinb about the cost of health care is no longet an option. “If we do nothing, withimn a decade we will be spending one out of everyy five dollars we earn on health Obama said. “In 30 years, it will be one out of everhy three.
” Obama acknowledged covering all Americans wouldfbe expensive, but promised health care refor would not add to the country’s deficit over the next 10 “To make that happen, we have already identifiexd hundreds of billions worth of savingse in our budget – savings that will come from stepse like reducing Medicare overpayments to insurance companiez and rooting out fraud and abuse in both Medicare and Obama said. In addition, Obama is proposing that Congress scales back the amountthe highest-income Americans can deducyt on their taxes and use that money to help financed health care.
Obama spoke for abou 20 minutes and then took questionsw from six people in the audience who expressedd fearover “socialized medicine,” askex questions about wellness and even questioned the country’ss education system. Regarding the idea of socialized medicine, Obamwa said that isn’t what he, or anyoner in Congress, wants.