Meeting at Blair House, across the street from the White House, Obama stressed that rising costs of health insurance premiums for companies, individuals and federal programs is creating an unsustainable system.

“Everybody here understands the desperation that people feel when they're sick,” he said. “And I think everybody here is profoundly sympathetic and wants to make sure that we have a system that works for all Americans.”

He added, “What I'm hoping to accomplish today is for everybody to focus not just on where we differ, but focus on where we agree because there actually is some significant agreement on a host of issues.”