Published: Jan. 7, 2010 at 7:33 PM
LINCOLN, Neb., Jan. 7 (UPI) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Thursday he supports the U.S. Senate’s healthcare reform bill, even though it is not “perfect.”
“The perfect is always the enemy of the good,” he told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star, “and the unknown scares people.”
But tackling healthcare reform is “the right thing for the country,” he said.
The current system “is not working well,” Buffett told the newspaper. “Healthcare costs have galloped up as a percentage of (gross domestic product) and we haven’t covered the population the way a rich country should.”
If the United States doesn’t “get more efficient in delivering healthcare, we’re going to exacerbate any competitive advantage we may have in many industries as compared to the rest of the world,” he told the newspaper.
The chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. noted healthcare was a huge expense at his company — “and our competitors around the world don’t bear the same cost.”
He said the healthcare bill that will result from reconciling the House and Senate versions “is not going to be perfect. There will be some unintended consequences and some surprises.”
But it’s time to start and then modify the legislation as needed, he said.
Buffett — often called the “Oracle of Omaha” and noted for his adherence to “value investing” and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth — has been a supporter of U.S. President Barack Obama.
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