The House bill is the companion piece to the Senate's Healthy Americans Act, championed by Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett.

The Senate duo are seeking to construct a bipartisan group to persuade the next president to reform the failing health care system with a mixture of Republican and Democratic ideas. So far, they are having more success in the Senate than in the House, but they hope new changes to expand insurance options will catch the eye of more House Republicans.

Wyden and Bennett have 14 Senate co-sponsors including seven Republicans, six Democrats and one independent Democrat. But in the House, they have 19 supporters, only two of whom are Republicans.

Wyden and Bennett amended the Senate version earlier this year to allow people to keep their employer-based coverage if it is working for them. On Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., added the same provisions to the House version.

"The heavy lifting is still ahead, but the fact that there are so many people here willing to participate in this gives me hope that we can get it done," Bennett said at a Capitol news conference.

The Healthy Americans Act would mandate that all Americans have health insurance, either through their jobs or through government "connectors" that will act as insurance pools. The coverage, while organized by the government, would continue to come from private companies.

mcanham@sltrib.com