Obama "Very Optimistic" On Health Care Legislation

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he's "very optimistic" about the prospects for legislation revamping health care, arguing that the country simply must control skyrocketing costs in this field.

He told a news conference th at unless the government acts now, the country will spend $1 out of every $5 on health care within the next 10 years. Obama commented in the wake of several days of work _ and political wrangling _ in Congress over the transformation he seeks in the way people get medical care in this country.

Despite sharp differences between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill over what role the government would play in a new health care system, Obama said he hopes "Congress will continue to make significant progress on this issue" in the weeks ahead.

Comments

[whyisthis]

04:08 PM on 06/23/2009

Senator Kay Hagan is a blue dog democrat. North Carolinians, we need to contact her , as well as your congress person. Burr is a lost cause. Call 1-800-828-0498 to get connected. Too many are suffering from the Pharma hogs.

[bichn]

03:51 PM on 06/23/2009

If he is optimistic about healthcare reform then he is not really paying attention. I cringe every time a democat comes out and says that single payer is not an option, or off the table. They are tone deaf. If they are interested in doing the right thing, they would go to single payer. We know they don't need republicans, so its the democrats that are the problem.

[CanadianBeef]

04:36 PM on 06/23/2009

This is test for Obama. Is he really sincere about change? He said it would be disruptive to overhaul one-sixth of the economy. The only tumor that needs removing is health insurance companies. They really have no constructive role in a health system. Maybe we could find something less damaging for them to do. Any ideas?

[Chaimirija]

03:50 PM on 06/23/2009

The bllss the Health Insurance lobby has whining about how the public option won't be fair to them...THE B@LLS!

[CanadianBeef]

04:28 PM on 06/23/2009

Do they expect sympathy from the public whose health care they've been rationing? I hope not!

[PINO]

03:34 PM on 06/23/2009

Headline News -
AMERICANS FEEL "STICKER SHOCK" OF OBAMA'S GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE PLAN
CBO Concludes Democrat Plan Increases Federal Deficit By $1 Trillion And Counting Over Next Decade.

Democrats' Plan Fails To Insure 36 Million Americans. "The analysis says that the number of uninsured Americans, now estimated at around 50 million, would decrease to about 36 million once the bill was fully implemented."

House Democrats Have "Lots Of Potential Targets For Higher Taxes" To Pay For Government-Run Health Care. "House Democrats have lots of potential targets for higher taxes as they aim to expand health care coverage to reach the roughly 50 million that experts say are uninsured. Also under consideration are higher alcohol taxes, increases to the Medicare payroll tax and a value-added tax, a sort of national sales tax, of up to 1.5 percent or more ... The [other] tax options include: increasing the price of soda and other sugary drinks by 10 cents a can, applying a potential 2 percent income tax increase to single taxpayers earning more than $200,000 a year and households earning more than $250,000, a new employer payroll tax could target 3 percent of employers' health care expenditures, taxing employer-provided health insurance benefits above certain levels...

BUT I THOUGHT MY TAXES WEREN'T GOING TO BE INCREASED?????

[ATLiberal]

03:48 PM on 06/23/2009

Just keep saying no. It will all work out for you.

[bichn]

03:53 PM on 06/23/2009

If they had included single payer, or a strong public option, those numbers would have been lower. We wouldn't want to upset the insurance industry though.

[CanadianBeef]

04:32 PM on 06/23/2009

This is what happens when Congress goes in search of a question instead of an answer. Legislators should be seeking a way to insure everyone. Instead, they are asking, "How can we insure a few more people without offering public insurance, and for under $1 trillion?" The question is pointless.
This is what happens when conservative ideology trumps compassionate humanity.

[PINO]

04:37 PM on 06/23/2009

Call it what ever the heck you want (just like obama) single payer, government-run, socialist medicine, but don't tell me that my options for my personal health care coverage will still be available IF this bill gets signed. Because it just wont be the case. And on top of that not only will I have to pay out additional monies for the NEW and Improved crappy coverage I will have to pay for those that I don't even know.

obama policy is to say one thing, and turn around and do something exactly opposite. They are telling Americans that this is the best way to go for our health care coverage, BUT they don't even have a plan. Isn't that the most beautiful thing. Let's roll out Health Care coverage to millions of people WITHOUT a plan.

Man that's beautiful.

[Tulka2]

03:32 PM on 06/23/2009

Please call your Congressman as Windup gives you the number below, but please, if you belong to a congregation....? Please ask your minister if they think access to health care is a human right. Please ask them to say so from the pulpit. The churches of America have had plenty of litmus tests for the last forty years, how about this one? If you count up Jesus' actual quotes, he talked about serving the poor more than any other subject.

Ed Schultz of Air America often says he thinks universal health care might be as heavy a lift as civil rights and in that case, we need the churches as civil rights needed the churches. This is about human rights. Martin Luther King would be there. So would Gandhi.

[DrToketee]

03:29 PM on 06/23/2009

Obama, when you were constantly blabbering about "CHANGE", the American people were NOT voting for the COSMETIC kind!

[Totto]

03:38 PM on 06/23/2009

While you're venting, call Harry Reid:202-224-3542. He needs to hear from YOU.

[CanadianBeef]

04:33 PM on 06/23/2009

And cosmetic surgery is expensive, as you can see. Start over, I say.

[silentknight65]

03:27 PM on 06/23/2009

DEAR GOP: (and stupid Democrats)

We elected President Obama to do his job as he campaigned. It is unfortunate that you need to patronize the lobbyists and special interest groups, at the same time neglecting OUR needs as citizens. It is behavior such as yours that is the downfall of the United States. You sometimes make me ashamed to be an American, where greed and corruption seems to outweigh the good that men like Barack Obama are trying to do.

We are a Democracy, where majority rules. You were thrown out of power on November 4th for being the greedy, self-serving bunch of cretins that you are. 70%+ of the populace wants a reformed health care system, so we don't lose our homes and life savings after having the misfortune of getting sick or requiring health care from an industry that charges $50 for an aspirin!!!!

So, pass the damned health care bill before we send you all packing in the mid-term elections next year. The American people are tired of your bulsh** and want you to do the job you were elected to do.
You're supposed to serve THE PEOPLE......not the big business lobbyists and oil/gs/insurance companies.....

[DrToketee]

03:26 PM on 06/23/2009

Obama, screw your damn optimism. Get your lazy ass from behind the teleprompter and out there to the people and into the aisles of Congress and LEAD! No more "great speeches". It's time to twist arms, butt heads, and FIGHT for doing health care the right way - with a full public option!

[Totto]

03:38 PM on 06/23/2009

While you're venting, call Max Baucus: 202-224-2651. He needs to hear from YOU.

[chuk98death]

03:40 PM on 06/23/2009

Um What? Obama should leave the presidency and go into congress? I am sure you know there is not much a President can do but use the bully pulpit to get the public on his side which in turn puts pressure on congress. He has already done this...Now we have to put the pressure on congress.

[longtalldrink]

03:25 PM on 06/23/2009

"Congress will continue to make significant progress on this issue" in the weeks ahead." You mean like they did with that nice little "credit card reform"?

[windup]

03:20 PM on 06/23/2009

Call your congresspeople!!!!!! Everyone- have every voting member of your family call!!!

1-800-828-0498
And pass that # to your friends. Tell people who have never called how easy it is. Just ask to be connected to your Congress person's office, give your name and tell them you want a single-payer option!

[windup]

03:18 PM on 06/23/2009

Help him and us out. Call your Congresspeople and demand a single-payer option.
1-800-828-0498
Ask the switchboard to connect you to your representative's office and tell the aide who answers that you demand a single-payer option. Call every representative. And pass the phone # to your friends and ask them to pass it on to theirs. Don't let the insurance companies screw us again!

[Mickey1]

03:28 PM on 06/23/2009

We need to grab them by the vote and shake hard to wake them up. Single-payer or they will be unemployed.