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President Barack Obama sought to spark momentum for a final push to revive his stalled healthcare overhaul, insisting that Americans "cannot wait another generation for us to act."

The White House said Obama would announce a decision on "the way forward" on healthcare, signaling his patience is running thin with Republicans who have demanded he scrap his year-old approach and start over.

Facing limited options, Obama's aides and fellow Democrats are focusing on prospects for resorting to a parliamentary tactic called reconciliation that would bypass the need for Republican support and allow approval by a simple majority vote in the Democratic-led Congress.

With Republicans condemning any such move, it would be a politically risky maneuver in a congressional election year when polls show many Americans skeptical of Obama's efforts to revamp the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry.

"I am eager and willing to move forward with members of both parties on healthcare if the other side is serious about coming together to resolve our differences and get this done," Obama said. "But I also believe that we cannot lose the opportunity to meet this challenge."

Democrats in the Senate and House approved healthcare bills last year that would reshape the troubled U.S. system by cutting costs, regulating insurers and expanding coverage to many uninsured people.

Democrats could be ready to forge ahead with the overhaul through the reconciliation process after evaluating the prospects of passing either a scaled-back version that could attract Republicans or breaking up the overhaul into pieces.

Republicans, who say Obama's healthcare overhaul would be too costly and involve too much government intrusion,  insist the reconciliation process should not be used for something as far-reaching as reshaping national healthcare policy.

Source: Reuters

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