Bottom line on health care summit: Democrats push ahead

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders from Congress to the White House vowed Friday to resurrect their long-stalled health care legislation, with or without Republican suggestions or votes.

"We know what happens if we do nothing: more and more people pay more," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "The president believes we still have to act."

Nearly a year after President Barack Obama set the overhaul effort in motion, Gibbs said the president would make an announcement, probably on Wednesday, about "where he sees a path moving forward."

Gibbs said the next few days would be a "fairly dynamic process" as the administration and Democratic congressional leaders decide how best to proceed. The White House believes the most likely route to passage by Congress is a controversial one known as "reconciliation," which involves special budget rules allowing majority Democrats to avoid any Republican filibuster, said a senior administration official.

But there are other options for a Democratic-only solution, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the issue. Less likely, at this point, is settling for a more modest fallback bill.

One day after an unprecedented health care summit that brought together Obama and lawmakers of both parties, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the nationally televised event showed GOP lawmakers are "accepting of the status quo" in which insurance companies mistreat consumers.

She told reporters at a news conference there are "good prospects for passing" health care legislation along the lines Obama has outlined, even if Republicans refuse their support.

The Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Richard Durbin of Illinois, seconded the determination to move ahead. "We are not going to wait," he said.

Both Pelosi, D-Calif., and Durbin said Democrats would consider Republican suggestions for changes. They aren't likely to get much. Spokesmen for the House and Senate Republican leaders said Friday their party does not plan a formal response to Obama, having made clear a belief that Democrats should scrap their bills.

The House and Senate both passed sweeping bills late last year, and had appeared on the cusp of reaching agreement on a final compromise that could remake the nation's health care system early last month. In general, the bills would have expanded coverage to tens of millions who lack it, while curbing insurance industry abuses such as banning the denial of coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.