Sens eye new government-run insurance plan

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Private insurers and non-profits could play major roles in a controversial government-run health-insurance plan, aides to U.S. senators said Sunday night.

Senate Democrats deliberated on a new proposal on the so-called public option, one of the most contentious aspects of healthcare reform, as President Barack Obama went to the Capitol to urge lawmakers to push forward with reform, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The senators were weighing a proposal that would give the Office of Personnel Management authority to run a new national health-insurance plan, the congressional aides said. OPM, which oversees the federal employee health plan, would negotiate terms with private insurers and contract with private-sector nonprofits to run the new program, the Journal said.

One senior aide called the plan the "leading proposal" among Democrats, who had been brought together by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for a closed-door session to seek a compromise.

Word of the possible compromise came after Obama met with Senate Democrats on a healthcare bill that has been bogged down by differences over the public option, whether the federal government should pay for abortions and an advisory Medicare panel.

"The president thanked members of the Senate for their hard work so far and encouraged them to continue forward on this historic opportunity to provide stability and security for those who have insurance, affordable coverage for those who don't and bring down the cost of healthcare for families, small businesses and the government," White House aide Bill Burton said in a statement.

The rare Sunday meeting comes ahead of possible debate Monday on key amendments.

Conservative Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has threatened to filibuster reform legislation unless it contains restrictions on abortion coverage and the Senate was seeking common ground on the government-run public option for health insurance.

Also up for discussion is the scope of an independent Medicare Advisory Board, which would have the power to rein in Medicare spending if costs continue to rise after 2014, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The Obama administration views the board as a critical to effective healthcare reform while the AARP, a powerful group representing retirees, has said the board would irreparably damage the Medicare program, the Post reported.

On Saturday, Senate Democrats defeated a Republican attempt to eliminate $42.1 billion for Medicare home care provisions in the proposed $848 billion healthcare bill.

If the Senate manages to pass a healthcare bill, it still would need to be merged with the more than $1 trillion bill narrowly approved by the House of Representatives.