"I will not back down on the principle that if Americans cannot afford coverage, we will provide you with a choice," he said, assuring that "no government bureaucrat or insurance bureaucrat will get between you and the care you need."

Until such time as a public option is in effect, he proposed that low-cost coverage be made available to high-risk individuals, an idea, the president noted, that was brought forth by Senator John McCain during last year's election.


In another nod to Republican ideas, President Obama directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to begin demonstration projects on medical malpractice reform, although he said that was no silver bullet.

The $900 billion (over 10 years) plan would be deficit neutral, the president promised, noting that cost savings would come from reductions in fraud, and improved efficiencies. He pointed out that the plan was less costly than the two wars taken on by the prior administration, as well as the tax cuts for wealthy citizens previously passed.

The success of full coverage depends on spreading risk, so the program would require all citizens to carry some health insurance. The president compared this to the way that states require auto insurance of all drivers.

President Obama made the moral case for reform and quoted the late Senator Ted Kennedy as saying that health care reform was "that great unfinished business of our society."

The President ended his talk with a rhetorical flourish saying that this issue was a test of the character of the nation. He noted the wisdom of lawmakers who passed Social Security and Medicare despite controversies at the time.

"The danger of too much government is matched by the peril of too little," he said. "We did not come to fear the future, we came to shape it."

The President noted that the Senate Finance Committee would have a bill ready next week.

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