Obama wants healthcare reform on his watch

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday he wasn't the first president to take up the cause of healthcare reform, but he was determined to be the last.

"It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for healthcare reform," Obama said during an address on healthcare before a joint session of Congress. "And ever since, nearly every president and Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, has attempted to meet this challenge in some way."

He said his plan must meet three basic goals: provide more security and stability for people with health insurance, provide insurance for those who don't have any and slow the growth of healthcare costs for families, businesses and governments.

"Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy," Obama told lawmakers and other Washington dignitaries. "These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans."

Some can't get insurance through their work, he said. Others are self-employed and can't afford coverage. Still others are willing to pay but are still denied insurance because of "previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or expensive to cover," he said.