Health bill negotiations

per politico....

OBAMA, DEM LEADERS MEET TODAY – President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid will meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Oval Office to talk reform. And at 10 a.m., they will move to the Cabinet Room where they will be joined by Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer, James Clyburn, Henry Waxman, Charles Rangel and George Miller and Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, Chris Dodd, Max Baucus and Tom Harkin, reports POLITICO’s Carol Lee. Final list of attendees....meeting still underway at 1:20pm per Politico.

More from NY Times saying President insisted on excise tax to Labor leaders but Pelosi still opposed.

Word of deal to exempt collectively bargained benefit plans for excise tax...which will probably have to be met with a change to exempt non union plans....likely leading to an income test of when tax applies. This this then creates a need for more financing to keep bill deficit neutral...I guess the Medicare payroll tax applied to dividends and investment income.