WASHINGTON- President Barack Obama pressed his case for an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare on Wednesday in a nationally televised news conference. He also addressed concerns about the economy.
Here are some quotes from the news conference:

HEALTHCARE:

I do think it's important to get this right. And, if, at the end of the day, I do not yet see that we have it right, then I'm not going to sign a bill that, for example, adds to our deficit.

I won't sign a bill that doesn't reduce health care inflation so that families as well as government are saving money. I'm not going to sign a bill that I don't think will work.

We are now seeing broad agreement, thanks to the work that was done over the last few days. So even though we still have a few issues to work out, what's remarkable at this point is not how far we have left to go it's how far we have already come.

We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year.

Part of the reason we want to have a public option is just to help keep the insurance companies honest.

ECONOMY:

One of the success stories of the past six months is that we really have seen a stabilization in the financial system. It's not where it needs to be. But people are no longer talking about the financial system falling off a cliff. We've stepped away from the brink.

The debt and the deficit are deep concerns of mine. I am very worried about federal spending.

That is why I've said that even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before. And health insurance reform is central to that effort.

As unpopular as it is, it was the right thing for us to do to step in to make sure that the financial system did not collapse, because things would be even worse today had those steps not been taken.

(Writing by JoAnne Allen)

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