Report: Reid being pressed on special health care deals

The Cornhusker Kickback may be on the way out, along with protections for Medicare Advantage customers in Florida.

But President Obama is pressing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to go further and scrub all of the special deals from the health care reform bill before it comes up for a final round of votes, Politico.com reports this morning.

The White House wants gone $1.1 billion in extra Medicaid money for Massachusetts and Vermont; a $100 million hospital grant for Connecticut; and special Medicare assistance for residents of Libby, Mont., who were exposed to asbestos from a vermiculite mine.

Reid brokered those provisions to cement votes from Democrats in those states. The White House request predictably is meeting resistance from those senators, Politico reports.

Apart from that, the so-called "Louisiana Purchase" that was put in the bill for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., may survive. While it means $300 million for Louisiana, the White House believes it is worded broadly enough to benefit other states as well.