Obama: Health Care Now or Never

Committee hearings on health care begin next week, and President Obama is gearing up for a fight. In an attempt to motivate political supporters and lawmakers to take action, President Obama told supporters by phone today that 2009 is the Congress’s last chance to get health care reform right. If lawmakers are not pressured to act, Obama said, health care reform would fall by the wayside in Washington and never take place. He also said the health care plan should extend coverage to the 50 million Americans who are currently uninsured, lower costs, and ensure choice—and it will cost an estimated $1.5 trillion, which Obama argues will actually be less than the current system's costs. "If the country stands with the president and if the country is demanding health care reform then we'll get it done,” Obama said. “Washington will not have any option but to follow us." Obama’s urgent words come one day after Senator Ted Kennedy penned a Boston Globe column arguing that, when it comes to health care, “we cannot afford to wait—or to fail.” Get ready for a battle.