A compromise on health care reform could be achieved if two specific changes were to be made in the Senate Finance Committee bill, according to a University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston poll.

The poll found that support for the legislation sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., increased from a small minority to a distinct majority when poll takers added the two most popular amendments chosen by respondents: malpractice reform and a public option in the menu of insurance choices.

"This poll suggests a pathway to passage, a bridge between the parties," said Dr. Ward Casscells, the poll creator and a UT-Houston cardiologist who served as President George W. Bush's assistant secretary of defense for health. "People want choices and these two in particular increase public support for reform."

Design your own bill

The poll found support for the Baucus bill increased from 27 percent to 55 percent when a public option and malpractice reform were added to it. Poll takers allowed respondents to design a Baucus bill they could support by giving them an array of amendments from which to choose.

Casscells said he thought those two amendments would cancel each other out, but it turned out a sizable percentage of respondents voted for both -- independents and moderates holding back support but willing to compromise if they got the key plank they want.

The Baucus bill would expand coverage to 94 percent of Americans and cost $829 billion over 10 years, trimming the deficit by $81 billion. Though much criticized by partisans on both sides and unpopular in public opinion polls, it is expected to pass the Senate finance committee on Tuesday.

Yes and no

Casscells and John Zogby, who conducted the poll, spoke about the results during a Friday briefing at which Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, lavished praise on the malpractice reform amendment but said no amount of Republican-friendly amendments would make him support a public option in a health care reform bill.

But Robert Shapiro, a Columbia University professor of political science, said the key is not partisan but dealing with a public option in a way that retain Democrats.

"The Democrats need to just hold their own and pick off one or two or more Republicans," said Shapiro, co-author of Politicians Don't Pander, which examined the Clinton administration's failed health-care campaign. "If they do that with a bill that has some moderate elements in it, the rest of the Republicans may feel the heat."

The poll found the addition of just malpractice reform increased the bill's support to 44 percent and a public option brought it to 40. Thanks to a stronger-than-expected overlap of people voting for both, together the two options brought support to 55 percent.

The poll, which has a margin of error of 2.1 percent, was conducted of 2,232 members of Zogby's pool of online opinion givers Sept. 28-30.