Senate Republicans vow to delay health-care vote

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a leader of the pro-choice faction of the Democratic caucus, said she is hopeful that a compromise can be reached. "We're looking for those words that will just keep the status quo in play," Boxer said. "If we're real, if we all mean what we say, I feel we can do it."

But Douglas Johnson, the legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said the emerging language was weaker than the House's amendment, which would ban abortion coverage in plans that accept people using federal subsidies to help pay for their insurance. "This is entirely unacceptable," he said.

Despite the focus on abortion, other issues remain unresolved, and Democrats continue to push for changes to the legislation. Four senators, including Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), announced Wednesday that they would seek to significantly increase the authority of a new Independent Medicare Advisory Board that the Obama administration views as critical to reining in health-care costs.

The amendment would scrap deals to exempt hospitals and hospices from additional Medicare payment cuts over the next decade, make clear that doctors and medical-device manufacturers also could face payment cuts, authorize the board to cut Medicare spending sooner and more deeply, and ensure that the board could continue to force Congress to make Medicare cuts years into the future.

The proposal is sure to infuriate provider groups and organizations for the elderly, though the senators also propose to expand the scope of the board so it could make cost-cutting recommendations across the entire health industry, a change sought by AARP and other seniors groups.

The White House and many Democrats view the commission as one of the few items in the bill able to drive down health-care costs over the long term.

"One of the most important goals of health-care reform is reducing the cost of health care," said Lieberman, who has yet to endorse the Senate bill. "The Independent Medicare Advisory Board is one of our most effective tools to do just that."