The US president has embraced a handful of Republican healthcare ideas to lure unconvinced members of the Congress to support his top domestic policy priority.
Congress, however, remains sharply divided as Barack Obama moves to spell out the final version of the healthcare plan.
Obama said four Republican-sponsored ideas might be considered, although there is no guarantee that Democratic leaders will incorporate Obama’s suggestions in revised legislation.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama said that he would consider four ideas floated by Republican legislators.
They include sending investigators disguised as patients to uncover fraud and waste in existing healthcare plans for the poor and elderly.
The second is the proposed expansion of pilot programmes to bring more predictability to medical malpractice lawsuits.
Others include increasing payments to providers in the Medicaid programme for the poor and expanding the use of health savings accounts.
Obama’s letter said: “I said throughout this process that I would continue to draw on the best ideas from both parties, and I’m open to these proposals in that spirit.”
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