Senate lawmakers, still hoping to forge an 11th-hour bipartisan agreement on health care reform, are floating the idea of a bill that would create a set of benchmarks that private insurance agencies must meet to avoid triggering a government-run health insurance plan.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, a member of the "Gang of Six" Senate negotiators who met Friday in hopes of brokering a deal to increase access and affordability of health insurance, has proposed creating such a "trigger."

No benchmarks have been offered yet, but they could be drawn from goals stated in the House bill that passed on party lines before the summer recess, as well as objectives outlined by President Obama, the Office of Management and Budget and other principles put forward on both sides of the aisle...