Obama seeks citizen input on health reform

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is asking the public to host informal holiday gatherings to brainstorm how to improve the nation's health system.

Obama issued a statement Friday saying he wants "the American people to have a direct say" in health reform efforts. He suggested they start with private discussions in their homes from Dec. 15 to Dec. 31, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

By using grass-roots activism, Obama and his team aim to circumvent some of the powerful special interest groups that quashed health reform during President Bill Clinton's administration 15 years ago, the Post reported.

Former Sen. Thomas A. Daschle, D-S.D., Obama's choice for secretary of health and human services, will attend at least one of the grass-roots sessions.

"What we want to do now is to move to a discussion across the country," Daschle said Friday. "We want your exact ideas."