Obama urges Republicans to pass healthcare overhaul

US President, Barack Obama, has reiterated calls for Republicans to pass his sweeping healthcare overhaul.

Obama said his plan included ideas from both sides of Congress. He rejected opposition calls to throw out broad bills passed by the House of Representatives and Senate and begin drafting the bill again.

Democrats are preparing to pass a final measure in the Senate without opposition support through a process called reconciliation, which requires only simple majority approval instead of the usual 60 votes needed in the 100-member chamber.

Barack Obama, US President, said, "Given these honest and substantial differences between the parties about the need to regulate the insurance industry and the need to help millions of middle-class families get insurance, I do not see how another year of negotiations would help. Insurance companies are continuing to raise premiums. For us to start over now could simply lead to delay that could last for another decade or even more."

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks about moving forward into the final stage of the health insurance reform debate at the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, March 3, 2010. Obama urged on Wednesday the Congress to move swiftly toward votes on the legislation. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)