Obama Still Committed to Health Care Reform This Year
President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to pass health care reform “this year,” and not in five or ten years, according to The Wall Street Journal’s live blogging from the President’s recent Town Hall Meeting on health care. The event occurred at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va.. Members of the public also sent in comments through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
According to WSJ, President Obama said great progress has been made toward achieving reform, including bringing key stakeholders on board. But now the job must be finished.
The President said that under the proposed legislation, Americans could keep their current doctors if they wished, and there would be renewed emphasis on electronic health records and prevention. He added that incentives would be adjusted to reward quality care rather than expensive care, “which drives up your costs but doesn’t make you better.”
Why pursue health care now, in the midst of an economic crisis? President Obama explained that the country’s current education and health care systems weaken the economy, and that government spending on Medicaid and Medicare could one day outstrip spending on everything else, combined.
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