Reporter Anna Edney relays a message from Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel, that a self-imposed deadline for a deal on health reform has been tentatively set:

Chairman Rangel tells me health reform negotiators hope to get a package of changes to CBO no later than Saturday.

That leaves basically three more days of negotiation, which would explain that marathon session at the White House yesterday aimed at reaching an agreement. Generic “progress” was reported coming out of that meeting, but nothing specific, and with three more days to go, an ultimate agreement seems a tall order. But the President is fully engaged in these final negotiations, and whatever comes out will bear his stamp.

Representative Robert E. Andrews, Democrat of New Jersey, a subcommittee chairman who was briefed on the negotiations, said: “President Obama has his sleeves rolled up and is in the middle of the discussions. He is choosing the right moment to be engaged. His effectiveness will be higher because he waited until the last moment.”

The long talks at the White House were unusual and suggested that Mr. Obama, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid wanted to close a deal as soon as possible. Lawmakers often meet with the president, but usually for no more than an hour or two.

What are the key issues involved in the negotiations? One is the financing of the bill, obviously, with the options of the excise tax, the surtax on the wealthy, or the extension of the Medicare payroll tax to investment income. House Democrats are still trying to keep Medicaid expansion at 150% of the federal poverty level, rather than the 133% in the Senate bill. House leaders want a national insurance exchange rather than the patchwork of state-based exchanges which may not feature the same kind of rigorous regulation or economies of scale.

In addition, Democrats are asking the pharmaceutical industry to chip in $10 billion more in give-backs of profits to pay for the bill. It’s absolutely galling that politicians have to ask corporations before making laws which affect them, but that’s America in the 21st century. PhRMA hasn’t yet responded.

FDL News will continue to monitor the health negotiations.

UPDATE: Sam Stein is reporting that the White House and labor have made “big strides” on the excise tax, not only exempting collectively bargained plans but also moving toward exempting anyone making under $200,000 a year from the excise tax. If that’s true, is there any real need to have the tax? How many plans would it affect, really?

All these new exemption, however, would require negotiators to find a way to make up for lost revenue. So far, discussions have centered around a small tax on the wealthy — a watered-down version of the House’s preferred way of funding reform. But there are other possibilities on the table, one of the sources said.

One is extending the Medicare payroll tax to investment income.