White House: Health Care Plan May Be Negotiable

Obama "believes the public option is a good tool," Axelrod said

The White House said the controversial "public option" plan is negotiable, hinting at a potential shift in the Obama administration's stance toward compromising on health care reform.

President Barack Obama "believes the public option is a good tool," political adviser David Axelrod said on Sunday. "It shouldn't define the whole health care debate, however." 

Advisers hit the Sunday talk show circuit ahead of Obama's primetime speech to Congress Wednesday night in which he'll try to reframe the health care debate and likely tout the public option plan, which provides a government-sponsored alternative that could help bolster competition in the marketplace.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, also speaking on Sunday, refused to say whether Obama would reject legislation that didn't include the so-called publc option. "I doubt we are going to get into heavy veto threats," he said.

Get more: MSNBC

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