President Obama could try drafting a health bill of his own, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Gibbs admitted to the possibility that Obama will put together his own bill Tuesday, at a regular White House press briefing.
The Democrats in the House and the Senate have been trying for more than a month to combine their health bills, and the arrival of Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., in the Senate has raised questions about whether Democrats can get any health bill through the Senate.
Obama has asked Republicans to join him for a televised health care summit to be held Feb. 25 in Washington, at the Blair House.
A reporter asked Gibbs at the briefing whether Obama has posted his own "combined bill" on the Internet.
"Not yet, but that will –," Gibbs said, according to a briefing transcript provided by the White House.
"When will that happen?" a reporter asked.
"I don't have the exact day yet, but it will be in time for you and for others around the country to evaluate a plan," Gibbs said.
Reporters then asked whether Obama would post "a merged House-Senate bill," or if he would "come up with some bill."
"Stay tuned," Gibbs said.
"Sounds like a yes," a reporter said.
Reporters noted at the briefing that Republicans say they have not yet agreed to participate in the Feb. 25 summit. Some suggested that Obama might have a "home field advantage" at the summit.
The Republican participants invited "are the relevant committee chairs and ranking members for the committees that dealt with the legislation," Gibbs said. "So it's not as if we've invited 2 people you've never heard of and all the smart guys are coming with us…. I don't know where the home court advantage is."
The individuals invited to participate in the summit were asking Obama for a chance to talk to him about health care issues on television, Gibbs said.
"Now, not accepting an invitation to do what they'd asked the president to do — if they decide not to, I'll let them leap the chasm that's there and try to explain why they're now opposed to what they said they wanted most to do," Gibbs said.
A reporter asked what Obama would say if Republicans told him that the country cannot afford to provide coverage for 30 million additional people, and that they fundamentally disagree with his goals.
"Now, if they say, look, we can't help the guy in the individual market whose insurance is going up 39%, he's on his own — then you'll have the parameters of that debate," Gibbs said.
"Certainly I think one of the backdrops for this event will be [that] we've now seen what has happened to the individual insurance market," Gibbs said. "People are getting letters in the mail now, they got them in California: 'Your health insurance is going to go up almost 40% from last year to this year.' That's a preview of what's going to happen if we don't do anything.
"Now, interestingly, the company that previously fought health insurance [reform] said one of the reasons that they did this was because we didn't have health reform," Gibbs said. "Well, I would say to this insurer: 'Welcome to the game. Come down and help us — help be part of the solution for cutting costs and increasing coverage.'"
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For earlier coverage of health bill efforts, please read House Panel To Hold Health Rate Hearing and Obama Calls For Republicans To Be More Flexible About Health Care.
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