Earlier today, President Obama spoke to the AMA about health care reform. Sam Stein at the Huffingtonpost.com reports,

President Obama walked into the lion's den on Monday, delivering alengthy speech on his approach to health care reform in front of theannual gathering of the American Medical Association. But he did notdodge the major issue of contention — the role the government willplay in remaking the insurance market.  "The public option is not your enemy, it is your friend," Obama declared at one point.  His prepared remarks were a bit more detailed:

If you don't like your health coverage or don't have anyinsurance, you will have a chance to take part in what we're calling aHealth Insurance Exchange…. You will have your choice of a number ofplans that offer a few different packages, but every plan would offeran affordable, basic package. And one of these options needs to be apublic option that will give people a broader range of choices andinject competition into the health care market so that force waste outof the system and keep the insurance companies honest.

The crowd, comprised of members of the nation's largest physiciancommunity, received those remarks with slightly less enthusiasm thanother points of the president's lengthy address, including Obama'sinsistence that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions, hisnod towards the need for medical malpractice reform, and his touting oflegislation that would discourage smoking among the nation's youth.  But the discussion of the public plan didn't end there.

"Now, I know there's some concern about a public option," Obamadeclared. "In particular, I understand that you are concerned thattoday's Medicare rates will be applied broadly in a way that means ourcost savings are coming off your backs. These are legitimate concerns,but ones, I believe, that can be overcome. As I stated earlier, thereforms we propose are to reward best practices, focus on patient care,not the current piece-work reimbursement. What we seek is morestability and a health care system on a sound financial footing. Andthese reforms need to take place regardless of what happens with apublic option…"

The comments about a public option were some of the most widelyanticipated of Obama's address. One week earlier, the AMA had expressedits opposition to a public plan before gently backing off their initialcritiques. The concerns among its 250,000 physician members are oversalary cuts and administrative requirements that could come withgreater government involvement in the insurance industry.

There is also a general fear that a public option could be a gatewaytoward a single-payer system, something that the president dismissedduring Monday's speech. .  . .