Doubts, questions loom over planned bipartisan health summit

More reactions to President Obama's health proposal are trickling in from Capital Hill, as the White House attempts to parry Republican criticism by asking GOP lawmakers to put their own plan on the table.

Politico: "House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is still playing hard to get on Thursday's health care summit. … Boehner privately told his Republican members Tuesday morning that he has not officially accepted the invitation to the summit" (Hohmann and Sherman, 2/23).

Fox News: As Washington anticipates a health care summit on Thursday that will give Republicans a face-to-face opportunity to make their case to President Obama, the White House is wondering why the GOP hasn't issued its own proposal for a health care overhaul. "What you can't do just yet is read about the Republicans' consensus plan - because so far they haven't announced what proposal they'll be bringing to the table," a White House spokesperson said (Pastre, 2/23).

NPR: "President Obama's televised health care summit with congressional leaders of both parties is just days away, but given reaction to the release Monday of his own health care overhaul proposal one could wonder: What's the point? … Indeed, the point of the summit for the Obama administration, and Democrats, is exceedingly apparent — and much of it has to do with his own party, television cameras and the viewing audience" (Halloran, 2/23).

Meanwhile, dissent remains within the Democratic caucus, too. CBS News reports, Rep. Bart Stupak, "a Michigan Democrat who opposes abortion rights," has said Obama's plan is "unacceptable." The plan would allow "public funding of abortion," he said in a statement, because it hinges on the language adopted in the Senate. Stupak had offered a stricter amendment that was adopted in the House bill (Montopoli, 2/23).