President-elect Barack Obama has begun laying the groundwork for overhauling the troubled US healthcare system, reaching out to interest groups and building grass-roots support for the huge undertaking.
Mr Obama, who takes office on January 20th, is using many of the Internet tools employed in his election campaign to engage the public. His Internet site www.change.gov asks people to submit ideas for changing the costly and inefficient system that leaves tens of millions uninsured.
"Every American is feeling the pressure of high health costs and lack of quality care, and we feel it's important to engage them in the process of reform," said Obama transition team spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.
"Change starts from the ground up, and we believe that's true on critical issues like healthcare reform as well."
Mr Obama's coordinator on healthcare, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, will participate in a healthcare reform debate in Colorado today that is expected to begin detailing the plans for change.
During his election campaign, Mr Obama pledged to bring health insurance to millions of uninsured Americans and spend about $50 billion to make US health records electronic.
Many health reform advocates believe Mr Obama will need broad public support to overhaul an industry that has become among the most intractable of US political problems.
Voters put healthcare reform as their third biggest concern after the economy and the Iraq war.
The United States now spends more on healthcare than any other developed nation, yet has some 47 million people without health insurance. Most insured people receive coverage through their employers but businesses complain that exploding costs threaten their competitiveness in a global market.
High worker healthcare costs have been cited as a major reason why US automakers, which are seeking $34 billion from the federal government, are in such trouble.
US healthcare costs now account for about 16 per cent of US gross domestic product - or $2.3 trillion - a proportion projected to grow to 20 per cent or $4 trillion by 2015.
Reuters