Endgame? House, Senate Edge Towards Deal On Bill For Health Summit | The Plum Line

Endgame? House, Senate Edge Towards Deal On Bill For Health Summit | The Plum Line: "Okay, contrary to what you’ve been hearing, House and Senate Dem leaders are in fact edging towards reaching a deal on a health care reform package to take to next week’s big summit, leadership aides tell me, though it remains a steep uphill climb.

The aides also say that Senate Dem leaders are warming to the idea of using reconciliation to fix their bill after the summit — suggesting an endgame may be taking shape.

It’s been widely assumed that the House and Senate had hit a virtually insurmountable snag, and yesterday Robert Gibbs hinted that the White House might step in and forge a compromise of its own to take to the summit.

But leadership aides tell me that while the snag is still serious, there’s still a chance of an agreement. That would allow Dems to head into the summit with a united front.

Here’s the state of play. Right now, leadership aides say, the White House is in talks with House and Senate leaders over the so-called “Cadillac” tax. The House wants the threshold tweaked to make it more palatable to Dem members who oppose it. Some Senators adamantly oppose this. But the leadership is discussing various tweaks that could work."