Businesses sign on to health care reform, Obama says

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Obama said Monday that he has secured the commitment of several key industry groups to do their part to rein in the growth of health care costs.

This pledge from the private sector could reduce the growth in health care spending by 1.5 percentage points a year, for a savings of $2 trillion over 10 years, according to senior administration officials. Overall, it could amount to a 20 percent reduction in the growth of health care spending.

Obama said the pledge is meant to complement his administration's health care reform initiative.

"When it comes to health care spending, we are on an unsustainable course," Obama said at the White House.

"What is a growing crisis for the American people is also becoming an untenable burden for American business. ... The explosion in health care costs has put our federal budget on a disastrous path."

Obama's announcement is aimed in part to reflect lessons learned from the failed health care reform efforts of the 1990s and to get ahead of potential detractors.

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