From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Barack Obama and Universal Healthcare Reform.

Hello again, I'm Mormon Allney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

By Universal,

Barack Obama does not mean health care provided and paid for by government. He wants to build on the current

employer-based system. Universal has come to mean guaranteed or mandatory health insurance for every

American. The major players agree it's finally time for reform, but what will it look like? What will

be government's role? Ask, can we afford to do it? Barack Obama replies with his own question.

Can we afford not to? We'll hear more today. On reporter's notebook later on, Europe warms up to

Obama when it comes to Guantanamo Bay. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D.

and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren and Alney, back with To the Point.

Barack Obama says America's health care system is a contributor to the country's economic

decline.

There's a growing consensus that recovery can't happen without health care reform.

If costs are cut, can quality be maintained?

How much should government be involved in setting standards as well as paying the bills?

On reporter's notebook, if Obama closes Guantanamo Bay,

will Europe do him a favor? It refused to George Bush by accepting those prisoners who can't go

home again. First is news update. Sales of new and existing homes dropped by the largest

...