Obama Continues Health Care Push

U.S. President Barack Obama is meeting with top Congressional Democrats as he continues to push for health care reform, one day before delivering a major address to Congress on the issue.

Mr. Obama hosts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the White House Tuesday, as lawmakers return to Congress after a month-long summer recess.

The president has made health care reform a top domestic priority. But his proposals have faced fierce opposition from some Republican lawmakers and members of the public.

Monday, Mr. Obama said it is time for lawmakers to end the health care debate and approve a final bill for his signature. He told America's largest labor union federation - the AFL-CIO - that it is "time to act and get this thing done."

He reaffirmed his support for the most controversial aspect of the reform proposals, an optional government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.

Mr. Obama is trying to regain the momentum on the issue after intense and emotional protests over health care reform at town hall meetings across the country in recent weeks.

In his speech Monday, the president also lashed out at opponents of his initiatives, accusing them of spreading false information because, he said, their answer to fixing health care "is to do nothing."

The protests, along with stern opposition by Republican lawmakers, have taken a toll on his job approval ratings.

In his speech to Congress Wednesday night, Mr. Obama is expected to reaffirm his support for the government-run health insurance plan, which is supported by many House Democrats but has been a central focus of critics.

House Speaker Pelosi has said the House will not pass a health care bill that does not include a public insurance option. But House and Senate Republicans have said the plan amounts to a government takeover, and even some moderate House and Senate Democrats have voiced concerns.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Max Baucus, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, has introduced a proposal aimed at attracting bipartisan support. The proposal, which is estimated to cost some $900 billion over 10 years, would expand Medicare coverage to millions of low-income Americans, and create health insurance exchanges that would provide consumers with information on various plans and prices.

Instead of the public option, the Baucus plan calls for creating non-profit health insurance co-operatives to compete with private insurers. The Montana senator is calling for imposing large fees on health insurance companies to finance his plan.