US President Barack Obama warned doctors on Monday that the US healthcare system was a ticking time bomb and urged them to support his overhaul, which includes a public insurance plan that many of them view with skepticism.
Obama took his healthcare campaign to the annual meeting of the influential American Medical Association (AMA), which represents 250,000 doctors and has historically been opposed to a bigger government role in healthcare.
“If we do not fix our healthcare system, America may go the way of GM; paying more, getting less, and going broke,” Obama said, likening the healthcare system to struggling carmaker General Motors, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.
“It is a ticking time bomb for the federal budget. And it is unsustainable for the United States of America,” said Obama, who wants a reform bill on his desk by October.
The US healthcare industry costs about US$2.5 trillion annually but leaves 46 million Americans uninsured and with little access to medical care.
Debate has sharpened over elements of the overhaul being drafted by Congress, including how to pay for the plan and whether it should include a public program to compete with private insurers.
In Washington, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said his panel would propose healthcare reform legislation this week and there was a good chance the measure would pass the full Senate with bipartisan support.
“I’ll get you 85 to 90 percent [chance] — bipartisan — because enough Republican senators want to do the right thing and have spent a lot of time working on it,” Baucus, a Democrat, told reporters in an interview.
The powerful Senate Finance Committee is one of five congressional panels drafting legislation to overhaul the system.
Many Republicans reject a public plan and argue that it would ultimately drive private insurers out of business.
The AMA has also expressed doubts about any public plan similar to the government’s Medicare program for the elderly. Doctors have struggled for years over cuts in Medicare fees.
“I understand you are concerned that today’s Medicare rates will be applied broadly in a way that means our cost savings are coming off your backs,” Obama said. “These are legitimate concerns, but ones, I believe, that can be overcome.”
The AMA said after the speech it was premature to judge the administration without details of what it plans.
“What you heard today was a call for a thoughtful analysis of all the options,” AMA president Nancy Nielsen said.
Obama received a standing ovation when he raised the issue of doctors being afraid to practice because of lawsuits, but there were a few boos when he said he did not support caps on malpractice awards.
Instead, Obama called for exploring a range of ideas to scale back “excessive defensive medicine.”
Doctors have long complained they must pay high malpractice insurance premiums because of the lack of limits on suits, and those costs are often passed to patients as higher fees.
Obama said a public healthcare plan would “inject competition into the healthcare market that forces waste out of the system and keeps the insurance companies honest.”
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