Obama administration gets cracking on healthcare reform

President Obama has signalled the White House would push a more assertive line on the ongoing healthcare reform debate in Congress, a move that has been welcomed by the media.

However, senator Charles Grassley believed to be a key figure to a bipartisan bill has resorted to a novel way of making his objections to the president's initiative clear. According to media reports Sen Grassley said via Twitter that President Obama has ''got nerve'' to go sightseeing in Paris while urging law makers to deliver on health care overhaul.

'''Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us 'time to deliver' on health care.'' he is reported to have written on Twitter.

Meanwhile, according to White House adviser David Axelrod the administration hoped to get significant health reform, significant energy legislation and financial regulatory reform done by the end of the year.

According to Peter Orszag, the White House's leading advocate on healthcare, office of management and budget director Peter Orszag up to 30 per cent of the nation's current healthcare costs, or some $700 billion annually, could be eliminated simply by curtailing unnecessary or costly expeditures.

Regarding taxes on health insurance benefits, President Obama and his top aides have not revealed any intentions, but his top aides would not quite say no either to an idea that he had attacked during his presidential campaign.