Bloomberg: Obama Open to Creation of Health Cooperatives, DeParle Says

Obama Open to Creation of Health Cooperatives, DeParle Says

By Edwin Chen

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama may accept nonprofit health-insurance cooperatives in place of a new government-run plan as long as consumers are guaranteed more choice and competition in buying insurance, a top aide said.

“We would be interested in that” if those conditions are met, Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Conversations with Judy Woodruff” airing today.

DeParle said she expected Congress to pass health-care legislation on a bipartisan vote “around Thanksgiving.”

Each house of Congress has already missed the president’s deadline of passing a version of health-care legislation by its August recess. Obama says he wants to sign a bill before year’s end.

“It is true that the House and Senate have not voted yet on the floor, but we expect that to be happening when they come back,” DeParle said. “We feel like we are in better shape now than we’ve ever been before, and we’re very close to our goal.”

The proposal to create a new government-run insurance program is one of the most contentious issues that lawmakers are grappling with as they debate how to extend coverage to tens of millions of people without adding to the deficit. They’re also considering whether to mandate that employers offer health insurance to their workers, and how to pay for a plan that may cost $1 trillion over 10 years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aBKMHXigiNMM