Obama to get health reform boost

President Barack Obama’s plan to transform the US healthcare system is expected to receive a major boost from industry leaders on Monday.
Groups representing hospitals, doctors, drug companies and insurance firms are due to confirm their intention to slash spending over the next decade.
White House officials say it should save around $2 trillion (£1.3tn).
The government’s planned reforms include medical insurance for the 46 million Americans currently without it.

Confirming the deal with the health industry, Mr Obama is expected to tell Americans that „reform is not a necessity that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait“.
‘Significant step’
The six industry groups are due to formally deliver a letter to the president outlining their voluntary agreement to cut spending increases by 1.5% a year until 2019.
The White House believes it could eventually save families as much as $2,500 a year.
„I don’t think there can be a more significant step to help struggling families and the federal budget,“ a senior administration official was quoted by the Washington Post as saying on Sunday.
Signatories to the deal include America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the Service Employees International Union and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
They were among the harshest critics of a similar health reform plan set out by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
But there is a sense among some industry groups that now may be the best time to act before public opinion, fuelled by anger over costs, turns against them, the Associated Press reports.
Obama administration officials predict the move will significantly boost momentum for the president’s plans to get a reform package agreed this year.
The US currently spends $2.2 trillion a year on medical care, which amounts to 16% of the overall economy.