President Barack Obama is urging doctors gathered in Chicago to support wider insurance coverage and targeted federal spending cuts - calling health care "an escalating burden on our families and businesses."Obama spoke at the American Medical Association's annual meeting in his hometown Monday, tellings attendees that a system overhaul cannot wait.

"Today, we are spending over $2 trillion a year on health care - almost 50 percent more per person than the next most costly nation," said the president. "And yet, for all this spending, more of our citizens are uninsured; the quality of our care is often lower; and we aren't any healthier."
He continued, "Make no mistake - the cost of our health care is a threat to our economy ... It is a ticking time-bomb for the federal budget. And it is unsustainable for the United States of America."

Obama added that the high cost of employee health care contributed to the financial woes of General Motors and Chrysler. "If we do not fix our health care system, America may go the way of GM - paying more, getting less, and going broke."

The president told his audience he is open to requiring all Americans to have health insurance. But he emphasized that the plan he envisions would permit continuing help for those who cannot afford it on their own.

Obama said a "health care exchange" would be set up for the uninsured to choose a plan.