WASHINGTON (AP) — Short on votes, House Democratic leaders offered fresh concessions Friday night to anti-abortion lawmakers and worked to ease the concerns of Hispanic holdouts as they struggled to round up the support needed to pass sweeping health care legislation.

President Barack Obama lobbied by phone to save his top domestic priority, an expansion of coverage that Democrats have sought for more than a half-century.

"We're very close" to having enough votes to prevail, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said in a midday assessment, although he added a scheduled Saturday vote could slip by a day or two and sought to pin the blame on possible Republican delaying tactics.

"Nice try, Rep. Hoyer, but you can't blame Republicans when the fact is you just don't have the votes," shot back Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman for the GOP leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio.

Hours later, Democrats were still trying to get them.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over late-night meetings with Democratic abortion foes, whose votes were critical to the bill's fate, then with supporters of abortion rights, who are among the health legislation's biggest advocates in the House.

It was not clear precisely what changes were under discussion.

In general, abortion opponents want to outlaw pregnancy-ending services under a government insurance option envisioned in the legislation, except in instances of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk. Additionally, they want strict limits on abortion coverages within a so-called nationwide insurance exchange where private firms would sell policies.

Abortion rights' supporters generally want to permit coverage as long as individuals use their own money rather than federal subsidies designed to help defray the cost of insurance they could not otherwise afford.

"I think we have a fundamental disagreement in this issue. That's a reality," California Rep. Henry Waxman, a supporter of abortion rights, said after hours of closed-door talks on the issue.

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