Some common ground in health battle

WASHINGTON -- At the same time partisan divisions over health care are becoming increasingly stark, Democrats and Republicans in Congress are finding consensus on ideas that ultimately could be included in a final plan.

Momentum for health care legislation — which President Obama says he wants to sign by October — slowed Wednesday as lawmakers continued to bicker over a controversial government insurance program and the fundamental question of how to pay for the proposals.

Despite the political squabbling, both parties have offered proposals in recent days that include similar provisions.

"We often hear about where we disagree," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., who helped draft an overhaul outline that House Republicans released Wednesday. "It is surprising that there isn't more of a focus on what we can do together, where there are these common elements."

Some common ideas include:

•Providing government subsidies to help low-income Americans buy health insurance. Lawmakers differ on how the subsidies would be designed and who would benefit, but Wyoming Sen. Michael Enzi, the ranking Republican on one committee considering health care, said there is "broad bipartisan agreement" for the concept.

•Creating a "marketplace" where consumers can make side-by-side comparisons of health insurance options. Both Democratic and Republican plans, including the House GOP outline, call for the feature, which is similar to what is in place in Massachusetts.

•Allowing older dependents, up to age 25 or 26, to be covered by their parents' insurance.

•Requiring insurance companies to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and making it easier for employees to keep health benefits if they lose their job.

"You're starting to see ... agreement not only at the level of broad principles, but at the level of major features for implementing those principles," said Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, a think tank.

Rancor grew this week after the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a bill being considered by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee would cost $1 trillion over the next decade and would cover only about 17 million of the more than 46 million without insurance.

The committee, led by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., began reviewing the bill Wednesday, a process that is likely to continue into next week. Dodd said the committee will begin by working through the least controversial provisions of the bill.

"Throughout this process, we've incorporated many disparate viewpoints and strove to find consensus wherever we could," Dodd said, arguing that the bill is a "product of a year's worth of work by members and staff on both sides of the aisle."

Sticking points between Democrats and Republicans include the concept of a government-run, or public, health insurance program that would compete with private insurers. There is also disagreement about requiring companies to provide health care to employees or pay a penalty.

But possibilities for consensus were driven home Wednesday by three former Senate leaders of both parties who drafted a compromise proposal. Former Democratic leader Tom Daschle, who was Obama's first choice for Health and Human Services secretary before he ran into tax troubles and withdrew, and former Republican leaders Howard Baker and Bob Dole said finding agreement wasn't easy.

Daschle had to give up on a public plan. Republicans had to accept a mandate that all Americans get health insurance. "I had a lot of trouble with mandates, just as Tom had trouble with [losing] a public plan," Dole said. "We weren't going to let two or three issues derail our total effort."

Contributing: Richard Wolf