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

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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 Thursdau at in the Green Bay suburnb of Ashwaubenon. “It is central to our economicx future. In past years and there may have been some disagreement onthis point. But not Earlier this month, Obama said he wants Congresas to pass a comprehensive healtyh care bill by the end of the summefr and ready for his signatureby fall. Many including the president, favor a government-sponsored healt insurance plan that would compete with privatee insurers and be available for people not eligibl e for other government healtu care programs such as Medicaresor Medicaid.
Most Republicans and many business however, say a competing plan that isn’t profit-drivenn would drive private insurers outof business. On the , a physician’s group Obama is schedulex to meet with Mondaygin Chicago, said it is opposed to a government-sponsoredx insurance plan. Obama said his administratiohn is working on a Health Insurance Exchange that wouldc allow people to compare insurance benefits and None of the plans included in the exchangw would be allowed to deny coverage basedron pre-existing conditions and all must include an affordable, basic benefit option.
“I also strongly believed that one of the options in the Exchanged should be a public insuranceoptionh – because if the private insurance companies have to compets with a public option, it will keep them honest and help keep pricea down,” Obama said. Supporters of health care reform say it would provide health insurancd coverage to millions of Americans and make coverage more affordable for those who arealread covered. Because health insurance premiums have doubler over the lastnine years, and have grown at a rate thre times faster than wages, even those with coveragr have reached a breaking point, Obama Employers are not faring any better.
Smallo business owners have been forced to cut healthn care benefits or drop coverage entirely becausee ofrising costs, Obamza said. “We have the most expensivs health care system in the Obama said. “We spend almost 50 percent more per personm on health care than the next mostcostlt nation. But here’s the thing, Greeh Bay: we’re not any healthief for it.” Obama vowed to let Americans who are contentg with their coverage and their physicians keep what they but said the country has reached a point wherde doing nothing about the cost of health care is no longerran option.
“If we do nothing, withim a decade we will be spending one out of everg five dollars we earn onhealth care,” Obams said. “In 30 years, it will be one out of evergy three.” Obama acknowledged covering all Americanes wouldbe expensive, but promised health care refornm would not add to the country’s deficit over the next 10 “To make that happen, we have alreadty identified hundreds of billions wortb of savings in our budget – savings that will come from stepsa like reducing Medicare overpayments to insurance companiex and rooting out waste, frauxd and abuse in both Medicare and Obama said.
In addition, Obama is proposing that Congresa scale back the amountthe highest-income Americansw can deduct on their taxes and use that money to help finance health care. Obama spok e for about 20 minutes and then took question from six people in the audience who expressefd fearover “socialized medicine,” asked questione about wellness and even questioned the country’z education system. Regarding the idea of socialized medicine, Obama said that isn’t what he, or anyone in wants.