国际英语新闻：Obama presses the case for health care reform

WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama pressed the case for health care reform at a town-hall style meeting with common citizens Wednesday.

    Fielding questions from the audience and responding to queries submitted via Internet at the North Virginia Community College in Washington's suburb, he spoke of the urgency of reducing the rapidly swelling cost of health care, an issue he said spoke to "who we are as a country."

    The president has recently repeatedly used the town-hall format to argue for a health care system overhaul, including a prime-time event last week televised from the White House.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on health care during an online town hall forum at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, July 1, 2009.

    "We've got to stop clinging to the broken system that doesn't work," Obama said.

U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Debby Smith, a 53-year-old kidney cancer patient, during an online town hall forum on health care at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, July 1, 2009.

The president stressed the need for a government-run health care program that would provide a one-stop service for consumers to compare the prices and benefits of various plans.

    Responding to concerns about the potential costs of overhauling health care, Obama spoke of reallocating money currently spent on "unwarranted subsidies" to medical insurers and of bolstering revenue, which he said would generate some 950 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years.

    Throughout the event, he repeatedly invoked the importance of affecting significant change quickly, cautioning against "the cost of doing nothing."

    In his vision, Obama aims to bring down health care costs and provide medical insurance to many of the more than 45 million Americans currently without coverage.

    His health care reform plan, which are making their way through five committees in the Congress, also call for a government-run health insurance program to compete with private insurers.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during an online town hall forum on health care at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, July 1, 2009.

A government-run health insurance program is one of the most contentious features of the Obama health reform proposals, with Republicans suggesting that such a plan could force health care providers out of business, forcing Americans to switch doctors.

    The president's plan is the first major push for health care reform since former President Bill Clinton's failed attempts in 1993 and 1994.

    A cnn survey released earlier in the day shows the president's plan has just a slim majority support.

    It also finds that although 55 percent think now is the time for the country to reform its health care system, 54 percent say they worry that their health care costs would go up under Obama's plan.

    Only one in five thinks that his or her families would be better off under the Obama plan.