Remember duck, duck, goose? The Senate health reform version might be Snowe, Snowe, Snowe, Collins.

Maine's Republican moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe is currently the only Republican supporting a Democratic-led health care bill. But if the Democrats get down to business, they might be able to lure Sen. Snowe's fellow Maine senator -- Susan Collins (R-ME) -- across the aisle as well.

In a statement yesterday, Sen. Collins indicated willingness to cooperate with Democrats on bipartisan and comprehensive health-care legislation; will Sen. Collins be the second Republican to vote across party lines? There's a chance that she could be won over -- especially if the Democrats engage in some (more) political courting. (White House budget director Peter Orszag and Sen. Susan Collins recently dined together at DC's posh 701 Restaurant. He was just pursuing a political courtship, but apparently she was playing hard to get. Democrats need to get more creative than a good lamb chop, but her statement reveals that they have a chance.)

Sen. Collins states that there is, "simply no question that our nation's health care system requires substantial reform... the legislation passed by the Senate Finance Committee represents a substantial improvement over the costly and flawed alternative approved by the Senate Health Committee as well as the House bills."

While she praised Sen. Snowe and the Senate Finance Committee for their diligent work on the legislation, she also expressed several concerns regarding the bill. For example, she worries that the bill would "lead to onerous financial penalties for small businesses" and would force Americans to pay more for health care than they currently do. (Len Nichols, director of our Health Policy Program, responds to two insurance industry-funded reports regarding health care premium increases under the Senate Finance bill.) Collins also expresses concerns over the effect of Medicare budget cuts, and she argues that the legislation does not offer enough cost-containment measures.

Nonetheless, she is committed to pass "responsible health reform ... working with members on both sides of the aisle who share these concerns" and remains "hopeful that many improvements will continue to be made to produce a bill that can achieve bipartisan support." (Remember her role earlier this year in passing President Obama's economic stimulus passage?)

As the White House continues to try to cozy up next to Sen. Collins, her statement should give them some confidence that their wooing is working. The health care bill may still have a ways to go, but Collins' endorsement of health reform (along with Snowe's "yes") will help the Administration in their quest to regain momentum and push for the passage of a comprehensive a health care bill.