Obama seeks GoP agreement at health summit

US President Barack Obama pleaded for bipartisan agreement at a last-ditch summit to save his healthcare overhaul on Thursday,but quickly clashed with Republicans who urged him to scrap his plan.

After months of heated battles over healthcare reform in Congress,leaders in both parties found few areas of agreement in the early exchanges of a day-long meeting that held little hope for compromise. Obama said healthcare reform was crucial to bolstering the ailing US economy and urged lawmakers to go beyond political theatre and partisan finger-pointing.

What Im hoping to accomplish today is for everybody to focus not just on where we differ,but focus on where we agree, he told congressional leaders. And then lets talk about some areas where we disagree and see if we can bridge those gaps. I dont know that those gaps can be bridged, he added.

Republicans said Obamas healthcare overhaul was too costly and would mean more taxes,more regulations and higher premiums for consumers. They said Washington was incapable of imposing workable regulations on one sixth of the economy.