UPDATE 2-Obama renews support for US public insurance plan
(For a take a look on U.S. healthcare reform, click on [ID:nN07323916])
* Obama renews support for public insurance plan
* Emanuel comments open door to deal on public plan
* Conrad says tax on employer health benefits discussed (Updates with Emanuel's meeting with House Democrats in paragraphs 7-10)
WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama renewed his support for a government-run health insurance plan on Tuesday after a top aide indicated the White House might be willing to back a healthcare overhaul that did not include the option.
In a statement released while traveling in Russia, Obama strongly endorsed the idea of a public plan and said it was one of the best ways to bring down costs and "force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest."
The option, supported by many Democrats, has drawn sharp opposition from Republicans in Congress, who say it could hurt insurance companies and displace the traditional employer-based insurance model.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was quoted in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday as saying the administration wanted to create competition for insurers, but the mechanism was negotiable.
Emanuel said another option would be to use the public plan only if the marketplace failed to provide enough competition, similar to a "trigger mechanism" included by Republicans in aprescription-drug plan for Medicare in 2003 but never used.
The comments sparked concern among healthcare reform advocates and many Democrats who support the public option and want it included in a mammoth overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system being hammered out in Congress.
Emanuel went to the Capitol Hill later on Tuesday to discuss healthcare with fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Without mentioning what he told The Wall Street Journal, Emanuel repeatedly cited Obama's support for the public option, aides and lawmakers said.
TELL PEOPLE HOW MUCH IT WILL COST
Democratic Representative David Scott said afterward Obama and Congress must tell the American people how much a healthcare overhaul would cost and who would pay for it.
"That's the big question here, and the quicker we can get the American people to buy into this, the smoother the road is going to be," Scott said. Continued...
