Obama: This time healthcare reform will be different

President Obama opened his summit
on health reform Thursday with a clear message: “The status quo is the one
option that is not on the table.”

Obama welcomed more than 100
lawmakers, interest group executives and experts to the White House to begin
talks that he hopes will culminate in significant reform of the healthcare
system.

{mosads}“We are here today to discuss one of the greatest threats not just to
the well-being of our families and the prosperity of our businesses, but to the
very foundation of our economy – and that is the exploding cost of healthcare
in America today,” Obama said.

Obama was introduced by Travis Ulerick, a firefighter from Dublin, Ind., who hosted one of the more than 3,000 healthcare community meetings promoted by Obama during the transition and since.

The administration issued a report Thursday compiling the results of those meetings.

By assembling so many people with
political and financial stakes in the future of the healthcare system for a
half-day chat session on reform, Obama put himself and his administration
squarely at the center of the coming debate while insisting he wants to
incorporate disparate viewpoints in the process.

“I know people are afraid we’ll draw the same old lines in the sand,
give in to the same entrenched interests, and arrive back at the same stalemate
we’ve been stuck in for decades. But I am here today because I believe that
this time is different,” Obama said.

Nevertheless, Obama warned against
anyone who tried to obstruct progress on national health reform.

“I want to be very clear at the outset that while everyone has a right
to take part in this discussion, no one has the right to take it over. The
status quo is the one option that is not on the table. And those who seek to
block any reform at any cost will not prevail this time around,” Obama said.

Obama signaled his seriousness
about tackling healthcare when he addressed a joint session of Congress last
week and issued a budget setting aside $633.8 billion for initiatives to cover
the uninsured and reduce the cost of medical care.

The road to success will be a rocky
one, Obama acknowledged: “It will not be easy. There will be false starts and
setbacks and mistakes along the way.”

Obama faces a deep ideological
divide between Democrats and Republicans over federal spending and the
appropriate role of the government in the healthcare system. The companies and
industry groups represented at Thursday’s summit also will fight to preserve
the more profitable elements of today’s system.

The president focused on broad
areas of agreement in kicking off the event.

“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, healthcare providers and community groups. It’s coming from mayors,
governors and legislatures – Democrats and Republicans — who are racing ahead
of Washington to pass bold healthcare initiatives on their own.

“This time, there is no debate about whether all Americans should have
quality, affordable healthcare – the only question is, how?” Obama said.