Font ResizeWashington » Utah Sen. Bob Bennett met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Wednesday to pitch his alternative health reform proposal.
The meeting, which also included Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, took place the same day leaders of the Senate Finance Committee released their highly anticipated reform proposal and was not part of the president's official schedule.
Obama also met with Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., a liberal critic of the Finance plan because it would create nonprofit health care cooperatives instead of a government run insurance option.
After the meetings, the White House released a statement saying: "These meetings underscore the president's continued commitment to working with senators on both sides of the aisle to pass health insurance reform this year."
Wyden and Bennett, a Republican, are pitching the only plan with any measurable bipartisan support. The "Healthy Americans Act" would move most people out of insurance plans offered through employers and into plans purchased through state-based exchanges. Obama has previously called the plan "radical," saying it would be too unsettling for the nation.
But Wyden and Bennett have been insistent, with Wyden pushing for the audience with the president. They say they will have their plan ready to go if the Democrats' current plan falls apart.
After the meeting, Bennett released a statement
Bennett, who is up for re-election in 2010, has received some heat from Republican challengers for backing a bill with a Democrat that would set federal standards that health insurers would have to follow. The senator has attempted to beat back these critics by pointing out his strong opposition to a government-run insurance plan.
