President Obama Calls on Congress to Move Forward with Reform

Moments ago, President Obama gave a public statement urging Congress to move forward with its healthcare reform effort. The President stated that reform has been debated for over a year and that any more debate would not do any more good. Republicans have contended that the Democrats start over and work with them on a joint bill. President Obama also emphasized that reform should be considered by an “up or down” vote, paving the way for Democrats to pass healthcare reform through reconciliation.

The President supports using the Senate’s bill as the foundation for a final package, proposing minor changes meant to bridge some of the differences between it and the House’s bill. The President also announced that he would support four Republican ideas; undercover investigations to highlight fraud in Medicare and Medicaid; demonstration projects to alternatives to resolve disputes of medical malpractice; raising Medicaid reimbursements; and expanding HSAs. Republicans immediately responded that these few provisions would not be nearly enough to win over their support on a bill they wholeheartedly oppose.

The President urged Congress to act within the “next few weeks” with the goal of have a bill completed before the Congressional Easter Recess.

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This entry was posted by Adam V. Russo on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 8:47 am and is filed under Health Care Legislation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.