U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday again pushed the importance of a health care overhaul. “I know there are some who believe that reform is too expensive, but I can assure you that doing nothing will cost us far more in the coming years. Our deficits will be higher. Our premiums will go up. Our wages will be lower, our jobs will be fewer, and our businesses will suffer,” Obama said during a town-hall style meeting in Wisconsin. Despite criticism, Obama moved to sell his proposals directly to Americans through the town-hall. He did not directly respond to the American Medical Association's president, who remains unconvinced of the White House's call for a public health plan. The president's warnings come as reservations have been expressed by health care providers, Congress, and the public. Despite protests from some Americans that the move to provide universal health care would be “socialism,” White House aides continued to plea that inaction on health care overhaul is too dangerous to put off and would cost money the country simply does not have. “I will not welcome endless delay or a denial that reform needs to happen,” Obama said. The president has set an August deadline for an overhaul that has long troubled Washington lawmakers.
