President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he realized Americans were skeptical about his healthcare overhaul, but that the country's economic recovery depended on the success of the $1 trillion plan.
Obama warned inaction would undermine the economy, worsen the deficit and cripple millions more ordinary Americans financially.
"I understand people are feeling uncertain about this. They are feeling anxious," he said in a prime-time televised debate, adding that he was confident people would support it when they looked "at the cost of doing nothing."
Obama cited the ballooning costs of spending on government health programs for the poor and elderly, Medicare and Medicaid. He said that without a healthcare revamp, those costs would explode the U.S. budget deficit.
The overall health of the economy, he said, also depended on stemming the rising costs of healthcare, which accounts for 17.6 percent of gross domestic product.
"That is why I've said that even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before. And health insurance reform is central to that effort."
I agree that we need to stem rising health care costs, but he's an idiot if he think his plan does that in any way.