[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/POLITICS/02/25/health.care.summit/t1main.summit2.gi.jpg caption="Hours before the White House's bipartisan summit on health care reform, lawmakers didn't appear ready for compromise."]
Washington (CNN) - The day before the White House's bipartisan summit on health care reform, there didn't appear to be much mood for compromise on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Chris Dodd, a key author of the Senate health care bill, told reporters flatly Wednesday that if Republicans continue to demand that Democrats scrap their health care proposals and start over, "then there's nothing to talk about."
"If you expect me to start all over on this, there's really not much point in this, 'cause we're not going to start over," Dodd said.
But Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell argued that's exactly what Republicans want.
"Unless they're willing to do that, I think it's nearly impossible to imagine a scenario under which we can reach agreement because we don't think we ought to pass a 2,700-page bill that seeks to restructure one-sixth of our economy," McConnell said.
Dodd said Democrats and Republicans could find some common ground in some areas, such as a Republican push to allow insurers to sell insurance across state lines. Dodd called the GOP proposal "a legitimate issue" but added that Democrats already have a version of that proposal in their legislation. FULL STORY
Watch the summit LIVE on CNN.com, starting at 10 a.m. ET.