WASHINGTON — The White House will not commit to health care legislation that would cap insurance premiums or tax benefits, taking a wait-and-see approach as congressional negotiators seek a deal, advisers said Sunday.
President Barack Obama will not demand that a final bill include a government-run plan as a way of driving down costs through competition, though that is his preference, they said.
“There will be compromise. There will be legislation, and it will achieve our goals: helping people who have insurance get more security, more accountability for the insurance industry, helping people who don’t have insurance get insurance they can afford, and lowering the overall cost of the system,” said aide David Axelrod.
Asked on ABC’s “This Week” whether Obama would sign a bill that ended the antitrust exemption for the insurance industry and allow caps on premiums, Axelrod said, “We’ll see what Congress does.”
Axelrod was also noncommittal about whether Obama would support taxing insurance benefits.
Obama “will obviously weigh in when it’s important to weigh in” on the possibility of a public option, said chief of staff Rahm Emanuel on CNN’s “State of the Nation.”
Added Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “He’s not demanding that it’s in there. He thinks it’s the best possible choice.” The Associated Press
