by Noam N. Levey and updated with reaction
Fueling momentum behind the push for a new government insurance plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that his healthcare bill will include a compromise that would create a nationwide "public option," while giving states the option to "opt out" of such a plan.
"The public option is not a silver bullet, (but) I believe it's an important way to ensure competition and to level the playing field for patients with the insurance industry," Reid told reporters.
"Under this concept, states will be able to decide what works for them."
Reid sent the proposal to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to be analyzed Monday, a key step before he can bring a bill to the floor for debate.
Reid's decision does not settle the debate roiling Democratic ranks over how to create a government insurance plan that would give consumers who don't get coverage through their employer an alternative to plans offered by commercial insurers.
The so-called "opt-out" compromise is still two votes shy of the 60 he needs to overcome a Republican filibuster, according to a senior Democratic aide on Capitol Hill.
And while expressing a preference for the so-called "opt-out" proposal Monday, others continue to push for an alternative, known as a "trigger," that would establish local public options around the country only if commercial insurers do not provide affordable plans to consumers.
That plan is being championed by Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, the only Republican to back the Democratic healthcare campaign.
With a 60-40 majority, which includes two independents who caucus with Democrats, Reid has to hold all his members or pick up Republicans to head off a filibuster.
Senate Republlican Senate Mitch McConnell rejected the proposal as part of a larger, also unacceptable plan:
"While final details of this bill are still unknown, here's what we do know: It will be a thousand-page, trillion-dollar bill that raises premiums, raises taxes and slashes Medicare for our seniors to create new government spending programs,'' said McConnell (R-Ky.) "That's not reform. So, wholly aside from the debate over whether the government gets into the insurance business, the core of the proposal is a bill that the American public clearly does not like, and doesn't support."
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said: " Whether you call it a public option, an opt-out, a trigger, or a co-op, the fact is all of these proposals put us on the path to government-run health care. Forcing Americans off of their current health coverage and onto a government-run plan isn't the answer, but that's exactly what the Democrats' plan would do."
Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) are advancing separate healthcare bills in the Senate and House, which would then have to be reconciled later this year before they are sent to the White House for Obama's signature.
But Pelosi indicated Friday that the opt-out alternative could be included in a reconciled bill later this year.
For now, House Democrats are poised to pass a bill that would create a nationwide government plan, although there is still disagreement about how much such a plan should pay doctors, hospitals and other medical providers.
Liberals, including Pelosi, favor a proposal that would link those payments to the existing Medicare program, which often pays providers less than commercial insurers. Proponents believe such an arrangement would save money and help drive down costs.
But many conservative Democrats, particularly from rural areas where Medicare typically pays less, stressing hospitals, want the government plan to negotiate its rates with providers, as commercial insurers do.
Pelosi hopes to settle those differences in time to unveil a bill later this week, according to her office.
Comments
Since we can't trust The Swamp, or any other White-House-approved source, to present the "other side" to Reid statement, here's Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell's response:
"While final details of this bill are still unknown, here’s what we do know: It will be a thousand-page, trillion-dollar bill that raises premiums, raises taxes and slashes Medicare for our seniors to create new government spending programs. That’s not reform. So, wholly aside from the debate over whether the government gets into the insurance business, the core of the proposal is a bill that the American public clearly does not like, and doesn’t support."
Posted by: Dissent is Patriotic | October 26, 2009 4:51 PM
This is GREAT!
Let the Red States opt out, and then sit back and watch as Republicans start losing elections even in the one place where they're still popular - the South.
Posted by: Gary | October 26, 2009 5:03 PM
Once again,,,,
FOX NEWS=irrelevant.
Tea-baggers accomplish nothing.
Posted by: Gus | October 26, 2009 5:11 PM
Read it and weap Loonie Lefties:
Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological GroupCompared with 2008, more Americans “conservative” in general, and on issues
http://www.gallup.com/poll/123854/Conservatives-Maintain-Edge-Top-Ideological-Group.aspx
Posted by: Bobbie Mobbie | October 26, 2009 5:46 PM
OH THOSE EVIL OL" HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES MAKING SO MUCH MONEY ERRRR OOOOPS GUESS NOT!
FACT CHECK: Health insurers' profits 35th of 53
Oct 26 10:06 AM US/Eastern
By CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press Writer
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9BIQPN01&show_article=1
Posted by: Bobbie Mobbie | October 26, 2009 5:55 PM
Wold judge Reid with very low credibility after his side steeping with the apointment of Burris for Senator.
Posted by: Inky | October 26, 2009 6:02 PM
******************************
Read it and weap Loonie Lefties: Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological GroupCompared with 2008, more Americans “conservative” in general, and on issues
Posted by: Bobbie Mobbie | October 26, 2009 5:46 PM
********************************
.
Yeah Teresa...except for the part about the fact that people who consider themselves "real conservatives" now call themselves Libertarians, Independents and Democrats.
The Glenn Beckerhead Teabagger party is going extinct. Read it and weep Rightie rubes:
.
http://whigblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/only-20-identify-as-republicans-42-are.html
.
Posted by: not bruce | October 26, 2009 7:17 PM
That’s not reform. So, wholly aside from the debate over whether the government gets into the insurance business, the core of the proposal is a bill that the American public clearly does not like, and doesn’t support."
Posted by: Dissent is Patriotic | October 26, 2009 4:51 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Weeping Bruce,
You spent eight years cheerleading for a team (Republican) that started a war based on lies and trashed our economy.
The last thing America wants is more advice from you Repug mouth-breathers.
Posted by: civil war guy | October 26, 2009 7:31 PM
Wold judge Reid with very low credibility after his side steeping
Posted by: Inky | October 26, 2009 6:02 PM
Inky,
Put down the bottle and go sleep it off.
Posted by: Stinky | October 26, 2009 7:35 PM
Let's just opt out of the whole thing, or go all the way. This message is brought to you by: The White House has been taken over by a Giant Pink Ribbon. We now know who owns the White House: The Healthcare Industrial Complex. If you want to cure cancer, then go big or go home. Don't enslave the public to a never ending walkathon without a finish line in sight.
Posted by: Cop out. | October 26, 2009 7:48 PM
"Bobbie Mobbie", since the White-House-approved Swamp is so far hiding the Gallup numbers, we readers have to step in and provide the facts they won't. From Gallup:
"Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June. Forty percent of Americans describe their political views as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 20% as liberal. This marks a shift from 2005 through 2008, when moderates were tied with conservatives as the most prevalent group."
America--twice as many Conservatives as Liberals.
So many conservatives... maybe someday the White-House-approved Swamp will actually hire one.
Posted by: Dissent is Patriotic | October 26, 2009 7:51 PM
Hey broken record, guess what we reported on here in the Swamp in June -- that's right, the numbers about conservatives, moderates and liberals, which were repeated today -- in other words, old news bucko. While you're inventing handles to make yourself sound like an army in these pages, why don't you try, "Original Thought."
Here's the report:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/06/conservatives_four_in_10_ameri.html
Posted June 15, 2009 8:15 AM
by Mark Silva
Republicans may be in decline, the party out of power and apparently leaderless, but politicians still must contend with a formidable conservative base of voters that straddles party lines.
Conservatives, polling finds, still represent the biggest bloc.
So far this year, four in 10 Americans surveyed by the Gallup Poll call their political views conservative.
Moderates account for 35 percent.
And liberals log in at just 21 percent.
"This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004,'' Gallup notes, with the liberal measure "in line with findings throughout this decade'' but "up from the 1990s.''
Posted by: Mark Silva | October 26, 2009 8:28 PM
OK, is it 'Opt out' or 'Cop out' on the part of the Dems.
Mark,
I would like to know just how they plan to implement the so called 'opt out' feature.
Will it be decided by referendum in each state?
Will it be decided by the state legislatures?
Will it be decided by the congressional delegations?
I will only trust a referendum, state by state.
Do you have any info on this question?
Posted by: C.Morris | October 26, 2009 9:04 PM
Let's just opt out of the whole thing, or go all the way. This message is brought to you by: The White House has been taken over by a Giant Pink Ribbon. We now know who owns the White House: The Healthcare Industrial Complex. If you want to cure cancer, then go big or go home. Don't enslave the public to a never ending walkathon without a finish line in sight.
Posted by: Cop out. | October 26, 2009 7:48 PM
********************************
.
Teresa,
If you Repug clowns could actually win an election maybe we'd care what you think....you can't and we don't care.
Posted by: Posted by: No, ifs, ands, or, buts about Afganistan | October 26, 2009 9:05 PM
An option to opt-out of the option? Wow...just tell it like it is- it's just a fluke. There is no money left to do the option. But, I've been to my doctor lately. . .and I've noticed a trend. The clinic I went to was pretty empty. I don't remember ever being this empty. It seems they are competing harder because of all the small clinics at Walgreens, or the recession is making people stay at home with their ills. Why pay $300.00 when you can pay $75.00 for the whole exam and get subscriptions?
Posted by: HmongRodneyKing | October 26, 2009 9:17 PM
Read it and weap Loonie Lefties: Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top IdeologicalGroupCompared with 2008, moreAmericans “conservative” in general, and on issues
Posted by: Bobbie Mobbie | October 26, 2009 5:46 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Breaking News!!!
Right Wing group makes Right Wingers look good in poll!!
Buy it now, believe it later!
Posted by: Cop out | October 26, 2009 9:21 PM
Silva: Thanks for weighing in . . . seriously.
Bob
Posted by: Bobbie Mobbie | October 26, 2009 10:46 PM
Wold judge Reid with very low credibility after his side steeping
Posted by: Inky | October 26, 2009 6:02 PM
Inky,
Put down the bottle and go sleep it off.
Posted by: Stinky | October 26, 2009 7:35 PM
Stinky -- You sound as if the bottle is your favorite cure for Obamism.
Posted by: inky | October 27, 2009 6:55 AM
Finally, Senator Reid has showed a spark of leadership. What better way to show America who is for helping a distressed nation, under the weight of an abusive, exploitive and greedy Healthcare Insurer Industry !! Let each state see how their representatives, in the midst of their constant fear-mongering, take our money from these Healthcare Corporations and then harp on the evils of a " cost-reductution option" !! Even while these representatives enjoy a " government-run " healthcare option, from our federal government !! Let their constituents see, first hand, their duplicity, their hypocrisy and then let them vote for even more of these phonies out of our Congress !! The status-quo is no longer an option, in our dysfunctional healthcare system !! It has to go and it's defenders, as well !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | October 27, 2009 10:34 AM
Liebermann said today that he would not support a cloture motion on a bill that included a public option. In other words, Senate Dems lack the votes to break a filibuster.
Posted by: Herbie H. | October 27, 2009 3:32 PM