WASHINGTON (September 9, 2009)--President Barack Obama told Congress Wednesday night that an option to private insurance should be part of any health care overhaul.

He said it would keep insurance companies honest.

Mr. Obama told Congress Wednesday night that the government-run option would be part of an insurance exchange for last-resort coverage.

Mr. Obama said the Congressional Budget Office estimates that fewer than 5 percent of Americans would sign up for the option.

Mr. Obama said the public option would not be subsidized by taxpayers, but would be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects.

He said the public option is a way to ensure affordable health care through competition, but he's open to other ideas.

Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, said the president made the case for why health reform is needed and about how insurance reform could benefit small businesses and families.

"I believe the most important part of the speech was when the President stood up to the far left and far right and said, “…it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn’t, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch,” Edwards said.

"That pragmatic approach, combined with an openness to both Republican and Democratic ideas, represents our best chance to protect and strengthen our health care system,” he said.

Some congressional Republicans said Mr. Obama squandered a chance to build bipartisan support in his health-care address to Congress.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker said he had hoped to hear Mr. Obama "flesh out a middle ground, but instead we heard platitudes and campaign rhetoric."

Republicans say the problem is his continuing support for a government-run plan for the uninsured.

In the GOP response to the Obama speech, Republican congressman Charles Boustany said, "replacing your family's current health care" with a government-run program is "not the answer."

At one point during the president’s speech Wednesday, a Republican lawmaker from South Carolina shouted, "You lie" as Mr. Obama was telling lawmakers that the Democratic plans for health care overhaul do not cover illegal immigrants.

"You lie!" Republican Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted from his seat, jabbing a finger in the air.

In a statement later, Wilson said he regretted the incident, saying he let his emotions get the better of him.

He extended "sincere apologies" to the president for what he called "this lack of civility."