WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Two U.S. Senate Democrats voiced opposition Tuesday to one possible strategy to push ahead on health care reform as congressional leaders pondered a short list of imperfect options to pass a bill this year.

Democratic leaders said they were in no hurry to make a decision on how to proceed on a health care overhaul and did not expect specific guidance from President Barack Obama when he delivers his State of the Union address Wednesday.

"We're trying to figure out what is possible," said House of Representatives Democratic leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "There are no easy choices."

Democrats have struggled to find a new strategy to pass health care reform, President Obama's top legislative priority, after last week's shocking loss of a Massachusetts Senate seat cost them their crucial 60th vote in the Senate.

Under a plan favored by some supporters, the House would pass the Senate health bill, eliminating the need for another Senate vote, and both chambers would pass changes to the Senate bill through a process called reconciliation.

That parliamentary procedure would require a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate, but would risk a possible political backlash by bypassing unified Republican opposition to a bill that polls show is unpopular with the public.

Two moderate Senate Democrats facing potentially tough re-election fights—Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Evan Bayh of Indiana—said they would oppose that strategy.

Sen. Bayh said it would "destroy any prospect for bipartisan cooperation on anything else for the remainder of this year. That would be a regrettable state of affairs and the public would not react well."

But the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said reconciliation remained a viable option on health care.

"I think reconciliation has been used effectively by both parties, most recently by the Republicans. It is not only legal it is part of our budget resolution," Sen. Durbin told reporters.

"I wouldn't walk away from it. I think it's an option we should keep on the table."

Other options include having the House pass the Senate bill without the changes in reconciliation, but House leaders say they do not have the votes.

Democrats also could start over with a scaled-back health care package, but many lawmakers are anxious to move on to talking about job creation and the economy ahead of November's congressional elections.

"There are a number of options being discussed," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. "There is no rush."

House and Senate Democratic leaders had been negotiating to merge the health care bills passed in each chamber into one version that could be passed again and sent to Obama, but that was cut short by the Massachusetts election.

Both bills would extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans, create exchanges where individuals can shop for insurance plans and bar insurance practices like refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Rep. Hoyer said lawmakers had cleared the decks for discussion of jobs and the economy around President Obama's State of the Union speech, but needed to make a decision on how to proceed on health care sometime next week.

He said he did not expect Obama to tell congressional leaders how to proceed. "I would be surprised if he said specifically, exactly how he hopes to get health care done," Rep. Hoyer said.