Obama defends health care bill at Families USA conference

By the CNN Wire Staff

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Barack Obama addresses Families USA's Health Action Conference
He defends his signature health care law; many Republicans have vowed a repeal
Obama says he is "open to other ideas" to address what critics have said are flaws in the bill
He says he is "not wiling to refight the battles of the last two years"

Washington (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama defended Friday his administration's signature health care law that House Republicans have vowed to repeal.

"I'm not wiling to refight the battles of the last two years," the president said, referring to a health care bill that Congress passed over unanimous Republican opposition. "We are moving forward."

But Obama, speaking at Families USA's 16th annual Health Action Conference in Washington, said he is also "open to other ideas" to address what critics have said are flaws in the bill, including medical malpractice reform.

A repeal bill passed the Republican-controlled House in January and both political parties are now jockeying for control of the issue ahead of the 2012 elections.

Most Republicans have acknowledged the virtual impossibility of an outright repeal, but have said they will try to cut funding of portions of the measure, arguing that it hamper prospects for long-term economic growth.

"Health care reform is part of deficit reform," Obama told the audience, pointing to reports that say health care expenditures would increase if the law were repealed.

The Department of Health and Human Services released an analysis warning that almost 130 million nonelderly Americans with pre-existing conditions would be at risk of losing their insurance without the guarantees provided by the legislation.

And the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says repealing the measure would cost up to $230 billion by 2021.

Republicans dispute that figure, but they have nonetheless exempted the bill from House rules that forbid legislation from adding to the federal debt.

In the Senate on Wednesday, Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina introduced legislation to fully repeal the bill.

DeMint's action came on the same day Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, began procedural steps to force a vote on a separate repeal bill in the coming weeks.

DeMint, a leading force in the Tea Party movement and founding member of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, said Republicans are "standing with the American people who are demanding we repeal this government takeover of health care."

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll taken January 14-16, 50% of respondents said they favored repealing all provisions of the health care law, while 42% were opposed. The poll had a sampling error of 5.5 percentage points. In a poll taken December 17-19, 54% said they opposed the law, but 13% said they opposed it because it did not go far enough. Only 37% said they opposed it because it was too liberal. That poll had a sampling error of 3 percent.

The law requires Americans to obtain health insurance, but also provides subsidies for small businesses and individuals to obtain that coverage. It requires insurers to cover preventive care, and sets up an independent appeals process for people who feel their claims were unfairly denied.

It also bars health insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, eliminates lifetime caps on coverage and allows families to keep children on their policies until age 26.