Stating in a letter that he is willing to consider several of their ideas in a compromise plan, President Obama extended a bipartisan olive branch to GOP leaders in the health care debate Tuesday
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said the president’s ideas were little more than a few items “inadequately addressed in a 2,700-page bill.”
The president also said that his decision to consider the GOP ideas was a result of last week’s health care summit.
President Obama is set to lay out a political road map for passage of sweeping health care legislation on Wednesday, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Among other things, Obama is expected to advocate for an “up or down vote” in Congress if necessary.
To be specific, President Obama said he may be willing to:
- Boost Medicaid reimbursements to doctors in certain states
- Include language in the final bill ensuring certain high-deductible health plans can be offered in the health exchange
- Commit $50 million to fund state initiatives designed to reduce medical malpractice costs
- Allow undercover investigations of health care providers receiving Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs
Obama’s midweek remarks will also deal with the substance of health care reform, Gibbs said. White House aides said the president’s speech will largely mirror the nearly $1 trillion compromise package he laid out one week ago.
