New Heat On Health Care Law

Congressional Democrats are upping the pressure on President Barack Obama to fix what's ailing his signature health care initiative with some in the party warning they may be forced to back a House Republican proposal if the White House doesn't offer an alternative by week's end.

"We've got to get out of the bunker and fix these problems," a senior congressional Democratic source told CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash of flaws in the newly rolled out law that have energized Republican efforts to weaken the President and his allies and derail a policy they have long considered unworkable.

The White House has until Friday to devise a solution to the problem-plagued roll out of the Affordable Care Act, the source said.

That's when House Republicans will take up a bill to address one of the more politically potent Obamacare problems for the President and Democrats - those losing their health coverage due to the law despite Obama's assurances in selling it to the public that Americans could keep their plans if they wanted.

The House bill would allow those insurance plans to extend into next year and gut a major part of the law by allowing anyone to purchase them, even though the existing policies don't meet the tougher requirements of the Obamacare initiative.

Among other things, the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination for preexisting conditions and mandates coverage for mental health, prenatal care and other issues. This is a primary reason why insurance companies are dropping existing coverage.

"In the absence of a solution that Democrats can support from the White House, you will see more and more Democrats voting for the Upton bill," the Democratic source said of the plan being advanced this week by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan.