NC to host regional discussion on health reform

RALEIGH -- Gov. Beverly Perdue has announced that North Carolina will host a regional discussion on health reform, one of five such forums the Obama administration is conducting across the country. The discussion in North Carolina is scheduled for March 31 in Greensboro. Other sites are California, Iowa, Michigan and Vermont. The governors of those states will also lead the discussions on health reform. Obama summoned allies, skeptics and health care figures to the White House on Thursday to debate ideas for overhauling the nation's costly system. Obama intended his daylong Washington session and a series of meetings to follow across the country to signal that his push for universal health care coverage will be more open and inclusive than former President Bill Clinton's attempt in the 1990s. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)