House members haven't seen Senate plan

House members are just as in the dark over a Senate compromise on expanding insurance coverage as their counterparts across the Capitol, a detail that could push back a timeline to meld the two bills and ready them for a final vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that lawmakers in the House haven't been briefed on a late push by Senate Democrats to reshape major portions of their bill, including a version of a national health plan and an expansion of Medicare. “We don't have paper; we haven't seen what they have,” Pelosi said. “So I can't tell you how long it would take.”

On Tuesday, Senate Democrats outlined a compromise that would create an alternative public option and a provision that would allow seniors to buy into Medicare at a younger age. A day later, rank-and-file Democrats said that they had not been briefed, and many said they would first have to see a financial assessment of the plan before backing it.

Pelosi said that differences between the two bills over affordability, the inclusion of a government-backed public option and how to pay for the package remain, but added she was confident they could be worked out quickly.

“I'm thinking we could find some common ground on those issues,” she said.

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