Fixing America's health care system is necessary to expand coverage and prevent rising costs from further straining the U.S. economy, President Barack Obama said Tuesday, CNN reported.
Before meeting with senators from both parties to discuss the issue, Obama called soaring health care costs unsustainable for families, businesses and governments. He urged immediate congressional action to ensure that health care legislation can be passed by the end of the year, as is his goal.
"This issue ... is not a luxury; this is a necessity," said Obama, who called the two-month window before Congress goes on its August recess a "make-or-break" period for his year-end timetable.
The president cited a litany of problems, including skyrocketing premiums and confusing loopholes in a system that he said costs more money per person than most other industrialized nations while providing inferior health care in many cases. And it will only get worse, he said.
A decade from now, Obama said, a fifth of the U.S. economy will be tied to health care, with millions more people lacking coverage and average paychecks decreasing due to rising health costs.
At the same time, he warned against expanding health care coverage without addressing the high costs that are causing problems.