As members of Congress work diligently to craft legislation on health care reform to debate later this summer, President Barack Obama has reminded them of his sense of urgency on the matter and his stance on some key components of any bill coming to his desk.

Barack Obama

Without using the term “mandate,” the president voiced guidelines for a system where all Americans “are responsible for their own insurance,” and his strong belief that a government-run insurance plan should be offered alongside private plans.

At a meeting on health care reform June 2, Obama met with several senators, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), John D. “Jay” Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.). Following the meeting, he echoed a stance he has made since taking office: that now is the time to reform the U.S. health care system.

“We can’t afford to put this off, and the dedicated public servants who are gathered here today understand that and they are ready to get going, and this window between now and the August recess I think is going to be the make-or-break period,” the president said, according to a transcript. “This is the time where we’ve got to get this running.”

Obama also sent a letter to Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the two groups at the forefront of drafting reform efforts.

In the letter, Obama wrote, “We simply cannot afford to postpone health care any longer,” noting the commitment by a group of national stakeholders, including America’s Health Insurance Plans, to trim $2 billion in spending in the next decade.

He again pressed for a system where Americans can keep the insurance they have now, while seeing costs lowered.

“But for those who don’t have such options, I agree that we should create a health insurance exchange – a market where Americans can one-stop shop for a health care plan, compare benefits and prices, and choose the plan that’s best for them, in the same way that members of Congress and their families can,” Obama wrote. “None of these plans should deny coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition, and all of these plans should include an affordable basic benefit package that includes prevention, and protection against catastrophic costs”

The president added he “strongly believe[s] that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.”

Noting the committees’ focus on individual mandates, ensuring all Americans have health coverage, or what Obama called “shared responsibility” in his letter, he said he is “open to your ideas” on the matter.

“But I believe if we are going to make people responsible for owning health insurance, we must make health care affordable,” he wrote. “If we do end up with a system where people are responsible for their own insurance, we need to provide a hardship waiver to exempt Americans who cannot afford it. In addition, while I believe that employers have a responsibility to support health insurance for their employees, small businesses face a number of special challenges in affording health benefits and should be exempted.”