White House Health Plan Seeks Compromise

President Barack Obama's senior adviser for health said Wednesday a compromise is within reach on a health plan of the government of the middle class that would not drive private insurers from business.

Offering coverage for government workers and their families has become one of the most controversial issues in the debate on reforming health care to cover the uninsured and reduce costs. Obama has proposed a public, and liberals insist it is an integral part of any final agreement. Conservatives and businesses fear that could open the door to a resumption of system administration.

Nancy-Ann DeParle, head of the White House, the reform of the health office, said a government could be designed to address concerns about the federal government too much in his role.

"I am very optimistic that we will be able to reach agreement on this point because it is part of the President," DeParle said in a session with journalists in which she has sent repeated questions on question. "Because he wanted to include a mechanism to reduce costs and maintain the private sector honest."

But the insurance industry remains skeptical, and many Republicans say, any type of agreement would be a circuit breaker.

DeParle suggested a compromise could be that the public pays hospitals and doctors rates similar to what private insurers pay. That would address concerns that the government would use its muscle to pay extremely low prices for medical services, which enables the public to receive discounted premiums that private insurers can not compete.

Even if the government paid market rates for private doctors and hospitals, it could further reduce costs, DeParle said. A government plan would not make a profit, and could also save on administrative costs.

"If it is a political disagreement, there are ways to bridge this gap," said DeParle.

However, DeParle acknowledged that ideological objections to government's role would be difficult to overcome. She spoke at a forum sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Most Americans May not realize it, but the government already pays about half of the nation's health care tab. The government programs cover the elderly, poor families and many children. Obama has proposed expanding it.

His plan offers middle-class workers and their families to enroll in a public and private insurance through a new type of purchase of the pool. But Obama has avoided filling in the details, giving himself some room for compromise.

These details will be critical, according to a recent economic study. The Lewin Group, a consulting firm, found a plan that would substantially reduce the number of uninsured. But depending on how it is designed, it can also carry a large part of the insurance company private.

If a plan is open to all employers and individuals, and paid doctors and hospitals in the same low rate of disease, it becomes the primary insurer in the country, the study found. But if the plan was open only to individuals and small businesses, and similar rates paid to private insurers, the impact would be limited. In this case, the public is primarily to help the groups that now have difficulty obtaining private coverage.

Lewin is a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer. The consulting firm says it makes its own judgments, however, and his work is used by groups on all sides of the debate on health care. For example, Lewin has recently done a study for the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based research center has published a proposal for health care with a strong government plan. (News Google)