Government-run U.s. Health-care Tactic Increases Support With Opt-out
The establishment of the so-called public option to compete with private insurers is opposed by Republicans and has split Democrats. To get support from reluctant members of his party, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is likely to include the opt-out version in the legislation, said a Democratic aide who requested anonymity.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who backs what she calls a more “robust” form of the public option, was asked last week about the Senate proposal at a Washington press conference. “I dont think theres much problem with that,” she said.
“At the end of the day, we will have a public option in our legislation,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said. “Its good, better, best. Were having that debate.”
Lawmakers are considering the biggest health-care changes since the creation of Medicare in 1965. The legislation, President Barack Obamas top domestic priority, attempts to curb costs while covering tens of millions of the uninsured.
Pelosi and Reid are combining versions of the legislation passed by committees in their chambers to produce one House bill and one Senate measure. Assuming each chamber approves their versions, House and Senate lawmakers then would work together on a compromise measure that would be subject to a new round of votes.
Senate Bills
Reid is melding a measure passed on a party-line vote by the Senate health committee in July with an $829 billion proposal approved by the finance committee on Oct. 13 that support from a single Republican, Maine Senator Olympia Snowe.
The Congressional Budget Offices preliminary estimate of the House measure puts the cost of expanding health-insurance coverage to 95 percent of Americans at $871 billion, according to Pelosis office. The budget office estimates that 83 percent of Americans now have health insurance.
That preliminary estimate is premised on doctor- reimbursement rates pegged to Medicare. The total cost will be $40 billion to $50 billion higher when the budget office includes programs that dont provide health-insurance coverage, said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi.
Analysis Continues
The cost of those programs, such as public health initiatives, are still being analyzed by the budget office, he said. Pelosi said that “the bill will be paid for over 10 years, it will reduce costs, but it will also not add a dime to the deficit” in the subsequent 10 years.
“What Im hearing is this is the direction of the conversation,” Conrad told reporters.
Landrieu Encouraged
One Democrat who has voiced opposition to the public option, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, said she may be willing to embrace the compromise provision being considered by her partys leaders.
Landrieu said she was “encouraged that the conversations” among “senators who back different versions of a public option could potentially lead to a compromise” in a statement she issued after meeting last week with Reid. “This compromise should happen sooner, rather than later, so we can get to work on other critical aspects of heath care reform,” Landrieu said.
Health insurers shares were little changed after losing ground for much of the past month on concern the legislation would cut into profits. The Standard & Poors index of 13 managed-care companies rose as much as 1.4 percent Oct. 23 before falling back. Over the past month, it has dropped 7.4 percent.
Senate inclusion of a public option risks losing the support of Snowe, who has proposed a plan to start a government insurance plan only if there isnt enough competition among private insurers to keep rates low.
Snowe said Oct. 22 she would vote with other Republicans to keep a bill with a public option from even reaching the Senate floor for consideration.