White House to post health bill before Feb 25 meeting

The Obama administration on Friday invited 12 Democratic members of Congress and nine Republicans to a Feb 25 conference on healthcare and said it would post its proposal for a legislative overhaul online before the event. President Barack Obama has asked Republicans to bring their best healthcare ideas to the conference on revamping the $2.5 trillion US healthcare system. The issue, critical to his domestic agenda, has floundered since Democrats lost their crucial 60th Senate vote last month, in the face of united Republican opposition and public skepticism. The meeting will be broadcast live, answering criticism that the Democratic president did not engage Republicans and instead negotiated backroom deals in an effort to get legislation passed. The invitation letter said the White House will post the text of its proposed health overhaul package online before the meeting, and invited Republican leaders to post their own bill online as well. "Now is the time to act on behalf of the millions of Americans and small businesses who are counting on meaningful health insurance reform," said the formal invitation, from Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, and Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services.