Affordable Care Act

President Obama will visit Philadelphia and St. Louis this week to continue his push to have Congress pass health overhaul legislation this month.

Lawmakers are under intense pressure in the health care debate. The president is hitting the road to reassure nervous House members and shore up support for his plan. Republicans are taking their opposition to the bill directly to the voters, too.

One of the central arguments President Barack Obama has made on behalf of the health care plan he wants Congress to approve in coming weeks is that it would begin to address the problem of rising costs and thus also begin to bring down future federal budget deficits. But will it?

A proposed tax on high-cost insurance plans could make it more difficult for small businesses to purchase health coverage. Even though many businesses don't offer rich benefits, their plans may be costly because the covered employees are predominantly older, sicker or female, three categories that currently result in higher premiums. Other provisions in health overall legislation could mitigate the impact of the tax, however.

This video highlights President Obama's new proposal for health reform, which includes changes to what he calls the "worst practices" of insurance companies and efforts to control rising health care costs.

President Obama presented his new proposal on health reform Wednesday afternoon. Read his full speech here.

The White House released selected remarks in advance of the President's speech later this afternoon.

The President's letter to congressional leaders highlighted what he called areas of agreement between the Democrats and the Republicans on health reform proposals.

House and Senate Democratic leaders continue to determine support in their chambers for moving health care legislation by using the budget reconciliation process, which would allow the measure to be approved in the Senate by 51 votes rather than a filibuster-proof 60 vote margin.

House and Senate Democratic leaders continue to determine support in their chambers for moving health care legislation by using the budget reconciliation process, which would allow the measure to be approved in the Senate by 51 votes rather than a filibuster-proof 60 vote margin. President Obama is expected to announce some changes to the health care plan he unveiled last week that is hoped to bring more support for the package.

The White House health summit looks to this observer as a draw. Neither side scored any knockout blows.

A health care summit between President Obama, Republicans and Democrats ended with the president laying out some areas of consensus between the two parties but many disagreements remain.

Towards the end of the health summit, Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., urged the Democrats to start over on health reform. In wrapping up, President Barack Obama rejected that notion, saying "we cannot have another year-long debate about this."

In this video, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and President Obama discuss elements of health care reform during the White House health care summit.