Healthcare reform

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Republicans prepared for Thursday's six-hour Washington meeting looking for a starting point on healthcare reform but Democrats appear well past that.

U.S. President Barack Obama called members of Congress to Blair House -- across the street from the White House -- to hear ideas to fundamentally change the U.S. healthcare system, which involves about one-sixth of the U.S. economy.

Call it "The Blair House Project." And the prospect of what might emerge certainly scares some people.

Democrats have a series of plans on the table -- a $1 trillion measure passed by the House of Representatives, an $890 billion Senate bill and the ideas put out by the White House Monday. None of those is liked by Republicans.

The fact that the White House came out with a plan just before Thursday's session made Republicans doubt stated intentions by the Obama administration that the gathering is to consider new ideas.

GOP participants are expected to offer additional but much less sweeping plans.

The parties have very divergent ideas on how to rein in healthcare costs and both sides spent much of Wednesday talking about what will happen after the Blair House Project suggest Thursday's session is seen as little more than a show.

For Democrats the post-Blair steps involve stated plans to pass healthcare reform without Republican votes. For Republicans, the stance appears to be an effort to decry that threat.