Row 2, Seat 4 (Major Garrett)
White House Blog
FoxNews.com
2/22/10
The full White House health care proposal is on the web, and ahead of the posting online, White House briefed reporters to highlight some of the details:
• This proposal only deals with the Senate version of the health care reform bill, not the House version.
• On the abortion language, the White House said it remains as it did in the Senate plan (this would be the Sen. Nelson, D-Neb., language not the Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., version in the House which the president has suggested is too restrictive).
• Administration officials point out that the total cost of the plan is “off-set” and provided details for costs.
• There is no so-called “public option” or government-run option in the White House proposal.
• The proposal also closes the donut hole for prescription medications, increases the threshold on the excise tax and improves insurance protections.
• White House officials noted the proposal eliminates the Nebraska provision, which was considered a sweetheart deal for Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
You can read the full WH plan here.
FOX News’ Eve Zibel contributed to this report.
