WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama told top Democratic House members yesterday that he favors a tax on insurance companies offering more expensive health care plans as a means of extending insurance to millions of people who are not covered, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

The so-called "Cadillac tax" is a feature of a health care bill that cleared the Senate before the Christmas holiday. But the House has chosen another financing method -- a tax hike on the wealthy. Powerful labor unions at the core of the Democratic base are opposed to the "Cadillac tax," saying that, in some cases, union members gave up wage increases in return for richer health care benefits.

Mr. Obama's preference may put pressure on the House to drop its approach and adopt the Senate tax as part of a compromise between the two bodies. The president made his views known at a late-afternoon meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other senior Democrats.

Hours earlier, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked by reporters whether Mr. Obama preferred the Senate tax or the House version. He said he did not know. "I have not heard him weigh definitively in one versus the other," Mr. Gibbs said.

Yesterday's meeting, the second in two days, was part of a White House effort to take a more active role in negotiations as the health care debate reaches its final stage. House and Senate leaders are trying to strike a compromise and send a bill to the president's desk before his State of the Union speech in the coming weeks.

One Senate Democratic aide said that at Tuesday's meeting, Ms. Pelosi was "still pushing ... for more money spent. It's not going to happen." The aide, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the closed-door meetings, noted that any compromise would need 60 votes in the Senate, a supermajority requiring the support of conservative Democrats leery of a heavy price tag.

The more active role is a change for the White House, which for months gave wide latitude to Congress as it shaped a bill. The Senate aide said the White House has signaled that it would "convene and run" meetings from now on, as lawmakers strive to reach a consensus -- reflecting a "significant uptick" in the Obama administration's involvement.

The Democratic leadership welcomes a more hands-on White House, as Mr. Obama's imprimatur could provide political cover to members casting a tough vote in an election year.

"The White House recognizes that it's time to step up," said Chris Jennings, a senior health care adviser in the Clinton administration. "They need to spend capital in order to get this over the finish line. It can be extremely helpful because, fundamentally, you don't want to delay any longer than you have to. Their involvement can accelerate this from a political and technical perspective."

As the debate winds down, the House appears resigned to foregoing the so-called "public option" -- a government-run health care plan that would compete with private insurers in hopes of lowering premiums and improving coverage. Although the House bill includes the public option, the Senate bill does not.

On one point both chambers seem to agree: keeping the negotiations private.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama promised that health care negotiations would be shown on C-SPAN, so viewers could get a clear sense of who was protecting the public interest. C-SPAN is willing. Last month, C-SPAN chief executive Brian Lamb sent a letter to Congress asking permission to televise important negotiations devoted to health care. But Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who attended yesterday's meeting with Mr. Obama, said there was no mention of televising future meetings.

A group of House Republicans called the Republican Study Committee put out a statement mocking Ms. Pelosi's assertion earlier this week that the health care bill has been devised amid unprecedented openness. "C-SPAN is practically begging the Democrats to make their deliberations public (like President Obama repeatedly promised on the campaign trail), but so far all they've offered in response are Orwellian claims about the most open process ever," the committee said. "Frankly, Madam Speaker, you should stop insulting Americans' intelligence."

An Obama ally loosed a fierce condemnation of the health care plan yesterday. California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his annual State of the State speech to deride the bill as "health care to nowhere."

"Now, as you know -- while I enthusiastically supported health care reform -- it is not reform to push more costs onto states that are already struggling, while other states are getting sweetheart deals," Mr. Schwarzenegger said. "Health care reform, which started as a noble and needed legislation, has become a trough of bribes, deals and loopholes."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., quickly scolded Mr. Schwarzenegger for his comments, saying California's budget troubles are not Mr. Obama's fault. "It sounds like the governor is looking for someone else to blame for California's budget," she said.

Ms. Feinstein added: "I am open to working with state leaders to find ways to help California in these tough times, but pointing fingers is not constructive."

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.