WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Michelle Obama expressed confidence Tuesday that Congress will enact some sort of change to the nation's health care system.

"We don't have a choice," the first lady told CNN's Larry King in an interview to air Tuesday night. "When we look at these statistics, we're spending billions of dollars on preventable diseases, and new health care legislation could go a long way to improving prevention, first and foremost.

"People have to have a pediatrician in order to get good information from their pediatricians. People have to be able to take their kids to well-doctor visits to have all this information tracked.

"So we have to get this done and I'm hopeful that Congress will come together, that the American people will recognize that doing nothing is absolutely not an option."