WASHINGTON — Under the banner of consensus and cooperation, President Obama on Thursday brought industry leaders, lawmakers, doctors and consumer groups to the White House for a healthcare forum to build momentum for his effort to reduce costs and expand insurance coverage.
But the largely symbolic event also showcased the political maneuvering -- and potential conflicts -- that is intensifying as the president moves forward on his reform initiative.
Liberal activists stepped up their campaign against the insurance industry, which many of them blame for scuttling the Clinton administration's efforts to reshape the healthcare system in the early '90s.
Several Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, pointedly cautioned the president about reaching too far to expand government's role in healthcare.
And Obama used the forum as a warning to those who might seek to derail his healthcare overhaul.
"Each of us must accept that none of us will get everything that we want and that no proposal for reform will be perfect," the president said as he welcomed more than 150 forum participants to the East Room of the White House.
"Everybody has a right to take part in this discussion. Nobody has the right to take it over. The status quo is the only option that is not on the table. And those who seek to block any reform at any cost will not prevail this time around."
Obama, who last week unveiled a budget that would set aside $634 billion for healthcare reform, has said he wants to tackle the issue this year, building on campaign promises to move toward universal coverage as well as improve healthcare quality and bring down skyrocketing costs.
And Thursday, the president stressed the progress being made, citing "a clear consensus that the need for healthcare reform is here and now." Many lawmakers and industry leaders at the White House echoed the president's words.
"We understand we have to earn a seat at the table," said Karen Ignagni, head of America's Health Insurance Plans, one of the industry's leading lobbying groups.
"You have our commitment to play, to contribute and to pass healthcare reform this year."
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue talked of "a new day" for reform. "We're going to get some kind of an agreement here," he said.
But amid the optimistic words, evidence emerged of the ideological differences and competing interests that threaten the apparently gathering momentum behind changing America's healthcare system.
