[ti:Obama Presses Case for Health Care Reform] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:IN THE NEWS] [by:51VOA.COM] [00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS [00:05.84]in VOA Special English. [00:09.49]This week, President Barack Obama [00:12.24]went before Congress and the nation [00:14.78]to better explain his health care proposals. [00:18.71]He said they would provide security [00:21.60]and stability to people who have insurance, [00:25.53]and make it possible [00:28.13]to insure millions who do not. [00:31.32]Individuals would be required [00:34.31]to have basic health insurance, [00:36.76]the way most states require automobile insurance. [00:40.94]Large businesses would have to [00:43.73]either offer their workers health care [00:46.17]or help cover the costs. [00:48.66]Insurers could not deny coverage [00:52.34]to people who already have a condition, [00:54.81]or cancel coverage if people get sick. [00:58.84]Reaction to the speech suggested [01:02.67]that it may have done more [01:04.66]to unite the president's own Democrats [01:07.55]than to gain Republican support. [01:10.33]But the Democrats will need party unity [01:14.12]if they try to pass reform legislation on their own. [01:19.39]Liberal Democrats support the proposal [01:23.62]for a self-supporting government insurance plan [01:27.06]to compete with private ones. [01:30.09]The government already insures Americans [01:34.04]who are retired, poor, disabled or military veterans. [01:40.56]The president says offering this choice [01:44.49]would keep insurance companies "honest" [01:47.83]and lead to better prices and quality. [01:51.76]But insurance companies and conservatives [01:55.91]in Congress say the so-called public option [01:59.75]would mean unfair competition. [02:02.88]Opponents also say it would lead [02:06.47]to restrictions on care. [02:08.31]In his speech Wednesday night, [02:11.15]President Obama said the idea [02:14.18]is only one part of his plan [02:16.57]and should not be used as an excuse. [02:20.17]BARACK OBAMA: "I will not waste time [02:21.41]with those who have made the calculation [02:23.35]that it's better politics [02:24.84]to kill this plan than to improve it. [Applause] [02:29.52]I won't stand by while the special interests [02:32.06]use the same old tactics [02:33.34]to keep things exactly the way they are. [02:35.50]If you misrepresent what's in this plan, [02:37.65]we will call you out. [Applause]" [02:39.30]He estimates the cost of the plan [02:41.64]at around nine hundred billion dollars over ten years, [02:46.02]but says it would not add to the federal deficit. [02:50.55]Most of it, he says, could be paid [02:53.59]for by reducing waste [02:55.68]in the existing health care system. [02:57.82]The Census Bureau says [03:00.22]ore than forty-six million Americans, [03:03.05]about fifteen and a half percent, [03:05.64]did not have health insurance last year. [03:09.03]On Thursday the president noted estimates [03:12.92]that nearly six million more [03:15.41]have joined the uninsured [03:17.60]since the recession intensified last September. [03:21.34]Also Thursday, Mister Obama said [03:25.42]he accepted an apology [03:27.71]from Representative Joe Wilson. [03:30.24]The South Carolina Republican shouted "You lie!" [03:34.62]during the speech to a rare [03:37.21]joint session of Congress. [03:39.41]Three committees in the House of Representatives [03:42.80]and two in the Senate were asked to develop bills. [03:47.08]The House committees have approved versions [03:50.66]that will need to be worked into a single bill. [03:54.30]One Senate committee has completed action. [03:58.19]That leaves the Finance Committee, [04:01.40]which is expected to consider a proposal next week. [04:04.93]Three Democrats and three Republicans [04:08.46]have been negotiating a bill for several months. [04:12.31]Vice President Joe Biden says [04:16.35]he expects health care legislation [04:18.89]to be completed by November. [04:21.38]President Obama notes that it was Theodore Roosevelt [04:26.01]who first called for health care reform [04:28.85]nearly a century ago. [04:31.09]"I am not the first president [04:33.63]to take up this cause," he said, [04:35.94]"but I am determined to be the last." [04:39.27]And that's IN THE NEWS [04:41.46]in VOA Special English, [04:44.15]written by Brianna Blake. [04:45.94]I'm Mario Ritter.