Obama makes fresh push for health care reform

• Source: Xinhua
• [15:40 September 10 2009]
• Comments

US President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress here Wednesday night, making a fresh push for one centerpiece of his domestic agenda -- health reform.

Two flaws

To make his case, the president noted two key flaws of the current US health care system.

He reminded lawmakers that the United States is "the only wealthy nation" on earth without universal health insurance coverage.

Some 15 percent, or 45 million Americans, do not have health insurance, according to government statistics.

Moreover, the president said, the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured, and "those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today."

Obama then went on to another major flaw of the US health care system -- the out-of-control increase in costs.

"We spend one-and-a-half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we aren't any healthier for it."

The United States spends more money on health care than any other nation: 2.5 trillion US dollars annually and over 8,000 US dollars per person, and yet its average life expectancy ranks at the bottom of all developed nations.

Obama noted that current system is simply unsustainable in a fiscal sense.

"Our health care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. Put simply, our healthcare problem is our deficit problem," he said.