The proposal comes three days ahead of a bipartisan White House health-care summit on Thursday as Obama tries to rally flagging congressional and US public support for a sweeping overhaul that would tighten regulations on insurers and expand coverage to tens of millions of Americans.

Republicans have demanded that Obama scrap the health-care bills passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate and House of Representatives last year. But White House officials rejected the idea and said they hoped the new plan would resolve the differences in the two versions.

"We took our best shot at bridging the differences," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said. "Hopefully this will move the process forward." The new plan, which revises the bill passed by the Senate last year, would cost $950 billion over 10 years and would not expand the deficit, White House officials said.

It expands tax credits for middle-class workers to make insurance more affordable and strengthens federal oversight of insurance premium hikes.

It also eliminates a controversial Senate deal exempting the state of Nebraska from Medicaid increases, closes a "donut hole" gap in prescription drug coverage and incorporates a January deal raising the income threshold for a tax on high-cost "Cadillac" insurance plans.

The proposal provides more tax credits to small businesses than either the Senate or House bills and provides all states full federal funding for increases in Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, for four years, the White House said.

Congressional leaders have scrambled for a way forward on health care since a surprise Republican victory in a special Massachusetts US Senate election cost Democrats their crucial 60th Senate vote and brought negotiations on merging their two bills to a halt.

One option would include a budget process called reconciliation that requires only a simple majority — 51 votes in the Senate — and would bypass Republicans. The White House did not take a stance on how Congress should proceed.

Pfeiffer said Obama wanted an up-or-down vote in Congress on the health-care bill, and the changes offered on Monday were "designed to provide us the flexibility to achieve that." Many congressional Democrats are anxious to turn to job issues and put aside the unpopular health-care bill ahead of November congressional elections. Republicans are hopeful of taking control of Congress in those elections.

The White House has pointed to premium increases of up to 39 percent for some California customers of WellPoint Inc's Anthem Blue Cross plans to make its case about the need for a major health-care reform.