Healthcare reform draws some GOP support

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The White House Tuesday touted qualified support for U.S. healthcare reform from several current and retired Republican leaders.

Within the past few days, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee; and two top officials of former President George W. Bush's administration -- former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and former Medicare chief Mark McClellan -- have said they favor healthcare reform, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. New York Mayor Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former Republican who turned Independent, also has expressed support.

These supporters have different ideas on the specifics of reform. But the Obama administration says their support refutes the claim that Democrats have relied on their congressional majorities to try to win passage of partisan legislation, the Post said.

How a key Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, will vote remains uncertain, however.

"I think it is important to hear all voices in the party," Snowe said Tuesday. "The more we hear, the more we learn, the better job we can do in the final analysis."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., however, said Tuesday the GOP still opposes healthcare reform because, he said, it would hurt seniors and increase the deficit.

The Senate Finance Committee vote on its version of healthcare reform has been pushed back to allow the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to score the nearly $900 billion bill to ensure its cost and revenue estimates are accurate, The Hill reported.