Obama also said his health care plan would benefit small businesses and people who are self-employed, by giving them more leverage in dealing with insurance companies. He would do it through a health care exchange for employers who have too few workers to get a good health insurance package, and for people who are self-employed.

Obama said they would be able to look at the plans available and join with others in the same situation. They would become part of a "big pool" with the leverage to drive down costs, he said.

When a man from Texas said limits on awards from medical malpractice lawsuits would bring down health care costs, the president replied, "I don't like the idea of an artificial cap" on such awards for injuries suffered. He also said there is little evidence that various states' efforts to limit such awards have uniformly brought down costs.

Obama said, however, that he is working with the American Medical Association to explore ways to reduce liability for doctors and hospitals "when they've done nothing wrong." He offered no specifics.

Congress will return to debating health care when it returns Monday from a one-week recess. Obama's agenda calls for reducing delivery costs even as insurance coverage is extended to virtually all Americans.

Obama says the government will not borrow money to carry out the plans, but many Republicans are dubious if not outright hostile to his proposals.