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White House to publish healthcare proposals Monday

21 February 2010 01:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The White House will unveil its latest healthcare reform proposals on Monday ahead of a bipartisan summit that President Barack Obama hopes will advance the stalled legislation, a senior administration official said on Saturday, APA reports citing Reuters.

Obama urged Democrats and Republicans on Saturday to find common ground at a summit he will host on Thursday to help rejuvenate efforts to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system, one of his top domestic policy priorities.

The administration official said the White House would publish its updated proposals on Monday but declined to outline details.

The plan is expected to combine features of two Democratic bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, according to congressional aides and healthcare advocates.

They are expected to reflect common ground negotiated over the past several weeks by Democratic leaders in Congress.

Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to take aim at health insurance companies, saying the "status quo is good for the insurance industry and bad for America."

Democrats are struggling to push healthcare legislation over the finish line in the face of sagging public support and solid Republican opposition bolstered by recent election victories in Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey.

"As bad as things are today, they’ll only get worse if we fail to act. We’ll see exploding premiums and out-of-pocket costs burn through more and more family budgets," Obama said.

Since the start of the year, Obama has sought to regain control of the healthcare debate, revive flagging enthusiasm for the overhaul among some Democratic lawmakers, and inject new momentum into the process.