Obama urges health care changes

CHICAGO -- President Obama continued to push for an overhaul of health care Monday, saying the spiraling costs of the current system are "unsustainable" for Americans and a "ticking time bomb" for the federal government.

"The reform is not a luxury, but a necessity," Obama said before the American Medical Association in Chicago. "If we fail to act, premiums will climb higher, benefits will erode further, and the rolls of uninsured will swell to include millions more Americans."

The president asked for the AMA's help in getting legislation passed that replicates best practices, gives incentives for excellence and closes cost disparities.

"I need your help, doctors," Obama said. "To most Americans, you are the health care system. The fact is, Americans … we just do what you tell us to do … That's why I will listen to you and work with you to pursue reform that works for you."

Incoming AMA President J. James Rohack said Obama's visit to the group's annual meeting suggests the president recognizes doctors' role in overhauling the health care system.

"If the doctors don't believe it's going to be better for our patients, we're going to let our patients know," he said.

Obama pushed for a public option plan where the government would provide health insurance to compete with health insurance offered by private companies.

He said a public option would give people a broader range of choices and inject competition into the health care market "so that we can force waste out of the system and keep the insurance companies honest."

"The public option is not your enemy; it's your friend, I believe," Obama said.

Obama acknowledged there are concerns a public option plan is "a Trojan horse for a single-payer system" and a move toward socialized medicine.

"So, when you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run health care, know this — they are not telling the truth," he said.

AMA leaders said they share Obama's goal of covering the nation's more than 46 million uninsured people, but some members of the group said they have qualms about the details.