President Barack Obama holds a bipartisan meeting to discuss health reform legislation at Blair House in Washington, Thursday.

Photo: Reuters

WASHINGTON -President Barack Obama and Republicans clashed frequently at a summit on his stalled healthcare overhaul, battling over the size and cost of the proposal and moving no closer to a compromise agreement.

Obama told about 40 congressional leaders his comprehensive overhaul was "absolutely critical" to a sustained economic recovery, but Republicans said he should scrap the current plans and start over with a smaller approach.

"There are some fundamental differences between us that we cannot paper over," Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Senate Republican, told Obama, adding his plan gave too much power to Washington and took it away from patients and doctors.

"We do not agree about the fundamental question of who should be in charge," Kyl said.

Obama urged lawmakers to go beyond political theatre and partisan finger-pointing, but the polite tone was interrupted several times by tense exchanges with Republicans, including his 2008 presidential foe John McCain.

When McCain questioned whether Obama had delivered on the political change he promised during the campaign, Obama curtly reminded him: "We're not campaigning anymore. The election is over ... I'm reminded of that every day."

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Obama clashed sharply on whether Democratic plans would raise the cost of insurance premiums, with each interrupting the other to make their points.

Republicans said Obama's healthcare overhaul was too costly and would mean more taxes, more regulations and higher premiums for consumers. They stacked the 2,700-page bill on their table to show its size and said their opposition represented the will of a majority of Americans.

"We have to start by taking the current bill and putting it on the shelf and starting from a clean sheet of paper," Alexander said. "This is a car that can't be recalled and fixed."