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Senators nix 'public option' in health care

by Mark Silva

The Senate Finance Committee, working through amendments to a sweeping health-care overhaul, today flatly rejected the concept of a "public option,'' a government-run insurance plan for people who cannot find coverage privately.

The committee's 15-8 vote against the option today underscores the depth of division among Democratic leaders pressing for health-care legislation as well as solid Republican opposition to an option that President Barack Obama has promoted while conceding he is open to negotiation.

The public-option, however, remains an essential element to any legislation ultimately adopted, in the eyes of some of the Senate's Democratic leaders as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has said the House cannot pass a health-care bill without the government-run choice.

In the short run, however, the vote today represents a victory for Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), as he pushes the legislation through his committee. He hopes to get a committee vote on his package by the end of the week.

"My job is to put together a bill that gets to 60 votes" in the full Senate, the Montana Democrat said before joining the majority on the committee in opposing the public option.

"No one shows me how to get to 60 votes with a public option," Baucus said.

In the Democratic-run Senate, it still takes 60 votes to bypass a Republican attempt to stall a floor vote on a bill.

The committee is in the second week of debate on Baucus' bill.

The legislation includes much of what the White House has been seeking, without the public option at this stage.

It includes consumer protections, including a ban on insurance companies denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions. It also provides government subsidies to help lower-income Americans pay for coverage that they cannot afford.

Both the Senate and House appear to be on track toward votes on contrasting versions of a health-care bill in October. Senate and House votes will lead to negotiations on a compromise, with the White House pressing for final action on a bill by the end of the year.

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