Health Care Reform Debate: Pres. Obama Reminds Voters "We Are Going To Get It Done This Year!"

Whitehouse.gov, Politico----




(Pres. Obama reminds us all that Health Care Reform can't wait.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Pres. Obama:

I realize there's going to be a lot of debate and disagreement on how best to achieve these long-term savings. Our proposal would change incentives so that providers will give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care, which will mean big savings over time. This is what we mean when we say that we need delivery system reform. I have proposed to Congress, and I am actually confident that they may adopt these proposals, that an independent group of doctors and medical experts will oversee long-term cost savings measures.

Every year there's a new report that details how much waste and inefficiency there is in Medicare, how best practices are not always used, and how many billions of dollars could be saved. Unfortunately, this report ends up sitting on a shelf, and what we want to do is force Congress to make sure that they are acting on these recommendations to bend the cost curve each and every year so that we're changes that will reduce costs for families and for taxpayers. We need an independent group that is empowered to make these changes, and that's something that we've proposed. I'm confident that if we work with the foremost experts in the field, we can find a way to eliminate waste, slow the growth of health care costs, and provide families more security in the long term.

Now, I realize that the last few miles of any race are the hardest to run, but I have to say now is not the time to slow down, and now is certainly not the time to lose heart. Make no mistake, if we step back from this challenge at this moment, we are consigning our children to a future of skyrocketing premiums and crushing deficits. There's no argument about that. If we don't achieve health care reform, we cannot control the costs of Medicare and Medicaid and we cannot control our long-term debt and our long-term deficits. That's not in dispute.

So we're going to have to get this done. If we don't get health care reform done now, then no one's health insurance is going to be secure because you're going to continue to see premiums going out-of-pocket costs going up at astronomical rates, and people who lose their jobs are having a Pre-Existing medical condition or changing their jobs finding themselves in a situation where they cannot get health care. And that’s not a future I accept for the United States of America. And that’s why those who are betting against this happening this year are badly mistaken. We are going to get this done. We will reform health care. It will happen this year.

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, TPMtv, MSNBC, Politico