Washington (CNN) -- As soon as Air Force One touched down in Indiana on Friday, Gov. Mike Pence met President Barack Obama on the tarmac with a plea: Expand the state's access to government-sponsored health insurance. The catch: Pence wants to do it with a conservative twist. At least, that's how he's selling his proposal. And his political future could hinge on whether the first-term Republican can convince conservatives that he's not just rebranding Obamacare. Pence has spent much of his first two years in office trying to strike a bargain on one of the health care law's core components. Indiana will expand Medicaid coverage, Pence says, but only if it's allowed to do it through a tweaked version called the "Healthy Indiana Plan," which also requires users to make small payments into health savings accounts.
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Mike Pence urged President Obama to OK Indiana's proposal to expand health coverage
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Pence says Indiana's plan is a departure from traditional Medicaid because it includes health savings accounts
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But conservatives are accusing Pence, a possible 2016 GOP presidential contender, of embracing Obamacare
He's arguing that Indiana's proposal is the solution to @placeholder's woes.