White House backs down on pushing Senate to remove special deals from health bill

White House backs down on health bill deals

WASHINGTON — The White House is backing down from trying to get senators to remove some special deals from the health care bill.

Senior adviser David Axelrod says the White House only objected to deals that affected just one state, such one involving Medicaid and Nebraska that’s being cut from the legislation.

Axelrod says that deals that could apply to more than one state are OK.

That means deals pushed by senators from Montana and Connecticut would be fine because they’re written in such a way that other states could potentially qualify.

It’s a change from a couple days ago when press secretary Robert Gibbs singled out the Montana and Connecticut deals and said President Barack Obama wanted them gone.

Axelrod spoke on ABC’s “This Week.”