Obama to alter health bill

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama is making a fresh attempt on Monday to rescue his signature issue of overhauling the U.S. health care system, with a proposal to keep a lid on climbing insurance premiums.

Mr. Obama's new plan includes a provision to allow the government to deny or roll back egregious increases that infuriate consumers. The idea is bound to resonate with Americans fed up with insurance companies. It also puts Republican lawmakers, who have opposed Mr. Obama's health care overhaul plan, at risk of appearing to favour big business over the constituents who will be voting in November congressional elections. Recent insurance premium hikes of as much as 39 per cent sought by Anthem Blue Cross in California have given Mr. Obama a new argument for his plan.

Health care reform is Mr. Obama's top domestic priority, but even with his fellow Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress during his first year in office, the legislation became bogged down, as centrist and liberal Democrats failed to reach agreements. Every Republican has voted against the legislation on the floor. — AP