Obama says doing nothing will cost more in long run

President Obama said at a health care town hall meeting at a school in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday that doing nothing on health reform will lead to increased costs and a higher deficit as he challenged critics of Congress' attempt at reform, The Associated Press reports.

"So the president, undertaking a new and aggressive push to see legislation enacted this year, attempted to sell that and his other ideas on health reform directly to Americans. He described his critics as naysayers. 'I know there are some who believe that reform is too expensive, but I can assure you that doing nothing will cost us far more in the coming years,' Obama said at a town-hall style meeting at a high school here. 'Our deficits will be higher. Our premiums will go up. Our wages will be lower, our jobs will be fewer, and our businesses will suffer.'"

Republicans were quick to assail inclusion of a public plan: "'We see that as a slippery slope to having the government run,' Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., said at a news conference. But Obama said no one - 'certainly not me' - is interested in a nationalized health care system, like that in Great Britain, answering a question from a woman who said she supports it. The president said the government is not going to force any change upon people who are pleased with the plan they already have with their employer" (Elliott, 6/11).

The Washington Post: Obama said his administration is working on the concept of a "health insurance exchange" that would enable consumers to "one-stop shop" for health coverage by allowing them to compare public and private plans' prices and benefits.  "'One of the options in the exchange should be a public insurance option -- because if the private insurance companies have to compete with a public option, it will keep them honest and help keep prices down,' Obama said.

"Speaking at a town hall-style meeting in a high school gymnasium, Obama also restated his support for limiting itemized deductions for families earning more than $250,000 a year. He said the revenue from that change is needed to help raise the more than $1 trillion it is expected to cost over the next decade to extend health care coverage for the 46 million uninsured Americans." Meanwhile, a Senate plan to overhaul health care is likely to include "a new tax on employer-provided health care plans that exceed the value of a basic health care plan offered to federal employees, about $13,000 per year for a family of four (Fletcher, 6/11).

Politico reports: "Obama chose Green Bay as the backdrop for his remarks so he could hold the city up as a model of how to do health care in a way that has kept costs under control and improved individual care. At some points, it was as if he were on the presidential campaign trail again. 'No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan,' Obama said, seeking to ease some of the underlying concerns about his plans. 'But in order to preserve what's best about our health care system, we have to fix what doesn't work.' Obama struck a bit of a populist tone in his opening remarks when he criticized 'warped incentives that reward doctors and hospitals based on how many tests or procedures they prescribe.' And he hit on federal spending, repeating his administration's line that his health care bill will not add to the deficit over 10 years. 'In all these reforms, our goal is simple: the highest-quality health care at the lowest-possible cost,' Obama said. 'We want to fix what's broken and build on what works'" (Lee, 6/11).