President Barack Obama, saying the U.S. has never been closer to overhauling health care, promised to fight back against opponents and special interests working to defeat the effort.
“I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it,” Obama told 13,000 people gathered to rally around his health care plans at Minneapolis’s Target Center. “If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out.”
Recommended Stories
Obama this week entered what he and his advisers hope will be the final phase in their efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system. The president is stepping up his drive amid stiff opposition from Republicans and hesitation from some Democrats over the cost of his plan, estimated at $900 billion over a decade.
“This is when the special interests and the insurance companies and the folks who want to kill reform fight back with everything they’ve got,” Obama said. “This is when they spread all kinds of rumors to scare and intimidate the American people.”
Earlier this week Obama addressed a joint session of Congress and today is his first rally style event since last year’s presidential campaign.
Obama and congressional Democrats are trying to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and rein in health care costs that account for about one-sixth of the U.S. economy. Among other issues, they’re considering requiring employers to provide coverage, mandating that everyone get insurance and placing new rules on insurers.
In his Sept. 9 speech to lawmakers, Obama endorsed taxing insurers on some medical plans. He also indicated flexibility on his proposal to create a government-run health insurance plan for those without coverage and small businesses.
A report released today by the Treasury Department says that about half of Americans under age 65 will lose health insurance coverage over the next 10 years, and for more than one-third the gap in coverage will last more than a year.
About 15 percent of Americans go without health insurance in any given year, the Treasury report said. It also said that the risks of losing insurance are highest for people under 21 years of age.
A Census Bureau report this week said about 46.3 million people in the U.S., including undocumented immigrants, didn’t have insurance last year.
The Senate Finance Committee, the last of five congressional panels to deal with the issue, is preparing to introduce its legislation next week.
