Sources: Obama, GOP's Snowe work on health care compromise

[thundley4]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.
The compromise plan would lack a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but would leave the door open to adding that provision down the road under an idea proposed by Snowe, the sources said.

One of the sources said White House officials are "deep in conversations" with Snowe on a much smaller health care bill than Obama originally envisioned.

The modified proposal would include insurance reforms, such as preventing insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, according to the source.

The potential deal would give insurance companies a defined period to make such changes in order to help cover more people and drive down long-term costs. But if those changes failed to occur within the defined period, a so-called "trigger" would provide for creating a public option to force change on the insurance companies, the source said.

CNN


I am willing to bet that these negotiations with this traitorous cow, will be the basis of Dear Leader's speech next week.  This so-called "trigger" will give 0Bama cover with the left without pushing a full out "public option" onto the right. It will be worded vaguely enough that the insurance companies can never satisfy the rules, and we'll be stuck with socialized medicine in a few years.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Right now our saving grace are the Blue Dogs as the GOP is still pretty impotent.

Taxes, deficits, death panels, covering illegals and rationed care are the realities that are sinking this, not just the public option. I also read that 20+ dems had said they will bolt if abortion funding isn't explicitly struck from the bill.

Of course even if the damn thing does pass it'll be bankrupt within 10 years.

[Peter3_1]

Snowe = RINO

[NHSparky]

Snowe = RINO

I wouldn't even be that kind.  She got a lower ACU rating than some DEMORCAT Senators.  To me, she's nothing more than (with Collins) Obama's Comfort Girls.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Hell, she's farther to the Left than the Blue Dog Democrats.  A LOT farther in many cases.