TUPELO - Americans were not promised costly health reform, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said Monday.

"I do not see how we can pay for this massive new program in a time of recession," he told the Daily Journal editorial board.

Wicker also expressed concerns about the Obama administration's possible push to outlaw workers' access to secret ballots on unionization votes, as well as likely utility bill boosts with so-called cap-and-trade legislation aimed at curbing carbon emissions.

Most of the hour-long meeting focused on his views of health care reform and the status of the economic stimulus program passed by Congress.

Wicker is a certain "no" vote on what's come out of House committees, and said he wasn't optimistic about what might emerge in the Senate, where a bipartisan group of six senators on the Finance Committee is attempting to craft a bill.

To win his support, a bill must include health care that is accessible, portable and affordable, the former U.S. House member added. Incremental change is preferable to a massive overhaul, he said.

"Health care has a lot of people concerned nationwide," Wicker said. "Most people want us to have health care reform, but it's the details that are causing the problems."

Health care reform was a key promise from Barack Obama when he ran for president in 2008.

"We were not promised a costly health care program," said Wicker, in his first full term as a senator after serving 13 years in the House. Costs shouldn't increase, he said, especially given the fact that existing programs like Medicare and Medicaid face questions about long-term sustainability.

He termed the White House's push for a government-run insurance plan to compete against private insurers, often called the "public option," a Trojan horse for a single-payer system, which he opposes.

He objects to mandating additional Medicaid coverage on the states, "and any plan that cuts Medicare funding is going to have a very difficult time getting passed," Wicker added.

He also said it wasn't clear Monday if the Obama administration had backed away from the public option or if Secretary of Health amp& Human Services Kathleen Sebelius were "floating a trial balloon or made a misstatement" when she said Sunday the White House would agree to drop it to see health care reform pass.

"I think it's objectionable enough without the public option," Wicker noted of existing legislation.

Late Monday, the White House clarified the weekend statements by repeating its support for the public option, though the president said it's "just one sliver of one aspect" of health reform.

Wicker said that medical malpractice reform, allowing people to buy insurance policies across state lines and instituting pilot programs providing incentives for healthy behaviors are incremental steps that could be taken to help rein in costs and increase competition among insurance providers.

As for the 2009 economic stimulus package, Wicker said he's disappointed with its rate of job creation, saying he "wanted to build some highways and bridges" and help universities and colleges construct needed buildings. He said he was prepared in January to vote for a smaller stimulus package more geared to such job-creating projects, but couldn't support the $787 billion bill that emerged.

And he termed America's economic downturn a "crisis that could have been avoided" by a more prudent approach to government-related home ownership programs.

"The federal government created a climate in which banks were required to make risky loans," he said.

Contact Patsy R. Brumfield at (662) 678-1596 or patsy.brumfield@djournal.com. Read her blog, From the Front Row, on NEMS360.com.

Wicker on other issues:

- Opposes creation of a federal mega-agency as a watchdog over financial and investment institutions.

- Is concerned about the Federal Reserve Bank's expansive authority to spend money without Congress' approval.

- Predicts extension of the Federal Highway Act, not a new bill this year.

Wicker: Health reform outlook doubtful

- The Tupelo Republican said he's not seeing any legislation emerging that he can support.