Obama says U.S. can't afford to wait on healthcare

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying Americans cannot afford to put off an overhaul of healthcare, President Barack Obama vowed on Thursday to break the political stalemate that has blocked past efforts and pass a comprehensive plan this year.

Obama formally launched a drive for healthcare reform at a White House forum, telling about 120 experts the costly and inefficient system was dragging down the ailing U.S. economy.

"Health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a fiscal imperative," Obama said. "If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy, then we must address the crushing cost of healthcare this year, in this administration."

Obama said he understood skepticism about the initiative given the failure of President Bill Clinton's plan in the 1990s, which died amid heavy opposition from insurance and drug companies.

"I know people are afraid we'll draw the same old lines in the sand and give in to the same entrenched interests and arrive back at the same stalemate that we've been stuck in for decades," he said.

"This time is different. This time, the call for reform is coming from the bottom up, from all across the spectrum -- from doctors, nurses and patients; unions and businesses; hospitals, health care providers and community groups," he said.

Obama's drive for a healthcare overhaul, a core promise of his Democratic candidacy, is another big-ticket item on a jammed White House agenda that includes programs to ease the economic crisis, rescue the financial system and cure an ailing housing market.

But Obama said the U.S. economic crisis made the healthcare task even more critical, and he reiterated his goal to pass a comprehensive healthcare measure by the end of the year.

"By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation's balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care," he said.

U.S. healthcare costs have grown to $2.5 trillion annually and the ranks of the uninsured have swollen to 46 million people. The country consistently ranks lower than other rich countries in preventing and treating many diseases such as diabetes.

MOMENTUM GROWING FOR REFORMS

Political momentum for an overhaul has grown in recent years. Obama and his Republican rival in the presidential election, Senator John McCain, both proposed extensive changes in the healthcare system during the campaign.

More than 80 percent of Americans think the U.S. health system needs fundamental change or a complete overhaul, a 2008 Harris Interactive poll found. In his budget plan, Obama proposed setting aside $634 billion to help pay for the overhaul over the next 10 years.

"Now is the time for action," said Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat and champion of healthcare reform whose appearance at the forum's closing session sparked a standing ovation.

"I'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking," said Kennedy, who has brain cancer. "This time we will not fail."