Barack Obama admits US health system is 'ticking time-bomb'

President Barack Obama faced down some of his toughest critics as he described the US health care system as a "ticking time-bomb."

Mr Obama said the current system of costly private health insurance which can cost the average family over £400 a month left too many people unable to afford proper health care.

"Make no mistake, the cost of our health care is a threat to our economy. It is an escalating burden on our families and businesses.

It is a ticking time-bomb for the federal budget, and it is unsustainable for the United States of America," Obama told a conference of doctors in Chicago.

"We are not a nation that accepts nearly 46 million uninsured men, women and children. We are not a nation that lets hardworking families go without the coverage they deserve, or turns its back on those in need.We need to get this done."

His comments to the America Medical Association in his home town of Chicago were met with enthusiastic applause.

White House aides have said it was essential for Mr Obama to have the support of doctors if he is to push through his reforms.

The "house call" was the first time a president has addressed the AMA,which represents over 200,000 doctors, since Ronald Reagan in 1983.

The AMA has voiced its opposition to the new public insurance option that would compete side by side with the private health insurance industry.

Despite the opposition it is accepted within the medical profession that reform is urgently needed and Mr Obama made it a promise of his election campaign that he would tackle the problem.
The president spoke of a health care system that focused on results.

"You did not enter this profession to be bean-counters and paper-pushers," he said to loud applause. "You entered this profession to be healers - and that's what our health care system should let you be."

Warning that critics will use "scare tactics and fear-mongering" to crush his plans Mr Obama said he needed the help of the doctors group in order to achieve true health care reform.

"To most Americans, you are the health care system. Americans - me included - just do what you recommend. That is why I will listen to you and work with you to pursue reform that works for you," the president said.

Explaining his public health option the president vowed that the plan would not force any American in to or out of a plan they like and want to keep.

"My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: fix what's broken and build on what works," he said.

"When you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run health care, know this. They are not telling the truth," he said. "What I am trying to do, and what a public option will help do, is put affordable health care within reach for millions of Americans."

The AMA conference is the first of a series of major speeches planned Mr Obama to press home his health care reforms.