President Obama turns up the heat for health care overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is again using his weekly radio and Internet address to try to convince a skeptical public of the need for his health care overhaul plan.

Facing a tough political environment, Obama also targeted Democratic lawmakers who are wavering.

Republicans are repeating their call to start from scratch on a proposal that would potentially reshape how all Americans receive health care.

But Obama says meetings with insurance industry representatives convince him starting over isn't a good idea. He says insurance companies couldn't give him "a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums." Obama says, "If we do not act, they will continue to do this."

In the Republican weekly media message, Rep. Parker Griffith of Alabama emphasized the urgency to stop what he called "this government takeover of health care."

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNP-03-06-10 0618EST