Obama Makes Case for Health-Care Overhaul

POLITICS

• JULY 1, 2009, 4:07 P.M. ET

Obama Makes Case for Health-Care Overhaul

By HENRY J. PULIZZI

WASHINGTON -- Rebuffing critics who say he is taking on too many challenges at once, President Barack Obama warned that the economy's funk could last for decades if the government fails to tackle energy, education and health care.

"If we don't act -- if we let this moment pass -- we could see this economy sputter along for years, if not decades," Mr. Obama told a town hall Wednesday in Annandale, Va. "I know that people say the cost of fixing our problems is great, but I can assure you -- we have reached a point where the cost of doing nothing is far greater."

Reuters

President Barack Obama talks about health care during an online town hall meeting at Northern Virginia Community College.

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The event at Northern Virginia Community College was designed to pitch Obama's health care reform proposals, with the president answering questions submitted over Facebok, YouTube and Twitter.

In his prepared remarks, Mr. Obama didn't make news on health care, repeating his plans to tame soaring health-care costs and expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. He repeated that any fix must not worsen the federal deficit and should include a public insurance option.

"We are making progress on health care reform and we are identifying ways to pay for it," Mr. Obama said. But he cautioned that "the hardest part is yet to come -- because that's the part when the naysayers and cynics use every excuse and scare tactic in the book to stop reform from happening. And it's already happening as we speak."

Asked about the possibility of taxing employer-provided health-care benefits, Mr. Obama didn't rule out the idea but repeated that his proposal to cap itemized deductions for the wealthy is the "better way" to fund a portion of the reform effort.

The price tag for the health-care overhaul could rise as high as $1.6 trillion over 10 years, according to one estimate. The administration has pitched a series of proposals it says could cover almost $950 billion of the revamp's cost.

Lawmakers are considering a cap on the tax exclusion, rather than its outright elimination. Mr. Obama said he opposed getting rid of the exclusion during his presidential run because he thought it would prod employers to stop providing health care and because individuals would have no leverage to negotiate with insurance companies.

Though he didn't give a definitive stance on capping the exclusion, he said the notion "is something that's going to be debated in the House and the Senate."

"My bottom line is if you've got health insurance right now you shouldn't see your costs go up," he added.

Write to Henry J. Pulizzi at henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com