Obama Writes His Own Health Bill

The White House is crafting its own health care bill aimed at uniting House and Senate Democrats ahead of a bipartisan summit next week. The president hopes to avoid a Republican filibuster by attaching it to a budget bill, using the procedure called budget reconciliation. However, congressional Democrats have yet to see the bill—and it may be a tough sell. “There has not been a collaborative process,” a Dem tells the New York Times. "This is very much a White House proposal.”

The plan is to take "some of the best ideas" from the House and Senate and combine them, says Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services. The proposal will include plans to insure 30 million Americans by 2019. The fate other issues—like abortion or the proposed tax on employer-sponsored insurance and—are still unknown. The White House will post the proposal online Monday.
(More health care stories.)