Obama urged to hurry up on health care reforms

Washington, November 11: Representatives from the business and labor fraternity along with retirees will start a campaign to urge the president-elect Barack Obama to expedite the passing of wide ranging health reforms.

Emphasizing that health care reforms was one of the pressing issues facing the country, John Castellani, president of Business Roundtable said that the group was reminding the president as well as the congress of this ticklish issue. The group will continuously follow up with the government for this cause, he added.

In their communiqué which minced no words, the group stated, "Addressing skyrocketing healthcare costs is a critical component of stabilizing household, national and global economies. Inaction undermines the economic security of our families; limits the productivity of our workforce; stagnates job creation and wage growth; and threatens to crowd out investments in energy, education and infrastructure."

The Business Roundtable along with the National Federation of Independent Businesses, AARP and the Service Employees International Union have insisted that Obama’s health care plan should be passed as a legislation within the new administration's first 100 days.

Obama has wished-for expanding government health programs. He has asked insurers to cover everybody irrespective of the state of their health. He intends to give financial backing to low-income families. In fact, Obama’s presidential campaign hinged primarily on healthcare reform wherein he promised to increase coverage and decrease costs.

With the elections now over, Obama actually has to look for ways and means to save money in the $2.2 trillion health-care system. Michael Myers, staff director of Senator Edward Kennedy's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee categorically stated that health care reforms was on the top of the agenda for the new government. He said, "It's the first, second and third item on our committee's agenda."

From the citizen’s perspective, following this up with the government makes a lot of sense given the fact that millions of Americans are still struggling to find affordable healthcare.