Pelosi: House requires public option

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Thursday said the U.S. House will not pass healthcare reform legislation that does not include "a strong public option."

Pelosi issued a statement saying if reform legislation does not include "a vigorous public option … it would be a major victory for the health insurance industry."

"A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House," she said.

She said a public option that would allow Americans to buy healthcare coverage at relatively low cost would promote competition and bring down costs.

"If someone has a better idea for promoting competition and reducing healthcare costs, they should put it on the table," she said.

Pelosi accused opponents of healthcare reform of using "distortions, distractions and misrepresentations" to try to kill legislation.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, have stepped up talks on a healthcare compromise, aides familiar with the discussions said. The compromise plan would not include a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but leaves the door open for the provision to be added later under an idea Snowe proposed, the sources told CNN in a report published Thursday.

Snowe is part of the bipartisan "Gang of Six," members of the Senate Finance Committee negotiating a healthcare proposal in that chamber.

One source said White House officials are "deep in conversations" with Snowe on a reform measure smaller than Obama sought originally. The source told CNN the scaled-back proposal would include insurance reforms, such as barring insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Obama and Democratic leaders are looking for a proposal that could win support from at least one or two Republicans, which could spill over to support by moderate Democrats and help bridge the often acrimonious differences on the public option issue.