Steel Plant Manager Confronts Obama Over Rising Health Care Costs — Here's How the President Responded

President Barack Obama questioned whether a steel plant manager was shopping for health care "effectively" after the man confronted the president during a town hall about increasing premiums.

"I'm the general manager at Millennium Steel. We're very honored to have you. One of the questions I had is about the health care costs. We are seeing almost a double-digit increase in health care costs every year. So do you think that trend is going to go down? And what can we do to control that trend?" the man asked.

President Barack Obama speaks at Millennium Steel Service in Princeton, Ind., Friday, Oct. 3, 2014, to discuss the economy as part of Manufacturing Day. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Obama, said he found that "really interesting" before questioning how the individual was shopping for health care.

"The question is whether you guys are shopping effectively enough," the president said, telling the man that "this year" premiums have "gone up at the slowest rate in 50 years."

"So the issue now is what can we do to make sure that you at Millennium are shopping and seeing more competition," Obama added.

The president then pledged to put the man in contact with some "health care market folks" to see if they could save him some money.

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