Obama to add some GOP ideas to health care plan

Obama to add some GOP ideas to health care plan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will incorporate Republican ideas on medical malpractice reform and trying to rid the health care system of waste and abuse in a revised proposal he hopes jump-starts his stalled overhaul drive, a Democratic official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Obama planned to send a letter to Democratic congressional leaders later in the day detailing his plan and make a statement at the White House on Wednesday. A Democratic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House had not released the letter, said the plan would include expanding the use of fraud investigators disguised as patients to uncover waste and abuse. The plan also would expand pilot programs on medical malpractice reform and would address health savings accounts and Medicaid providers. Obama's announcement is not likely to win him any votes from Republicans, who want Obama to tear up the existing bills and start over, but it could give wavering Democrats political cover by showing the party has been willing to compromise in the wake of last week's televised bipartisan health care summit. _Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed._