President Barack Obama used his weekly radio address to call on Congress to move forward on legislation to overhaul U.S. health care and to urge both political parties to work together on what has been a divisive and controversial issue.
The president's remarks precede a White House summit this coming Thursday on revamping health care. In his address, Obama said he hopes participants at the event act in good faith and put politics on the back burner.
"I don't want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points. Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that's been with us for generations," Obama said in his address.
Obama said congressional Republicans have offered some good ideas, including allowing Americans to buy health insurance across state lines and permitting small businesses to pool together and offer health insurance to employees at lower prices. He said he would support such changes provided they are done in way that protects patients.
"To members of Congress, I would simply say this. We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system. We know where the broad areas of agreement are. And we know where the sources of disagreement lie. After debating this issue exhaustively for a year, let's move forward together," the president added.
Recent double-digit increases in health care premiums show that the status quo is good for the insurance industry, whose largest members made record profits last year, the president asserted. He cited "jaw-dropping" price hikes by Anthem Blue Cross in California, and by Michigan Blue Cross and Blue Shield, among others, and said such increases have made it hard for many small business owners to offer health insurance to employees and prompted more individuals and families to drop health insurance coverage.
"And as bad as things are today, they'll only get worse if we fail to act," Obama warned.
Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.), who delivered the Republican response, urged Democrats to start over on a health-care overhaul and focus on making health care affordable, scrapping what he called a "misguided plan of a government takeover of health care."
"In fact, right now, Democrats are continuing to work behind closed doors, putting the finishing touches on yet another massive health care bill Americans can't afford and don't want," Camp said. "If the starting point for this summit is more of the same backroom deals and partisan bills, then this meeting will likely be a charade."
Camp, the senior Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, endorsed legislation proposed last fall by House Republicans that would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage on the basis of a pre-existing medical condition. The bill also would allow states to adopt their own health-care reforms and would curb medical malpractice lawsuits that Camp said drive up the cost of health insurance for all Americans.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the Republican bill would lower health insurance premiums across the board by up to 10%, or about $2,000 per year, without cutting Medicare, raising taxes or increasing the federal deficit, Camp said. He urged Americans to examine details of the GOP approach online, at http://healthcare.gop.gov.
-By Judith Burns, Dow Jones Newswires, 202-862-6692; judith.burns@dowjones.com
Write to Judith Burns at judith.burns@dowjones.com
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