Public Option Health Plan Looses First Battle

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tells us that his amendment to the Senate Finance Committee's health insurance reform providing for a publicly administered health insurance option failed to pass by two votes. That means a least two other Democrats* on the Committee voted against the public option. Defeat of the amendment was expected since the Chairman, Max Baucus (D-MT) does not support the option. However four out of five Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the issue have voted to include a public insurance plan among the options to be made available to Americans. Senator Schumer says that he is confident that as more people come to understand what the public option will do, a robust pubic insurance option similar to Medicare will emerge from the process. If you want effective reform that will control spiraling health care costs (65% of us do), tell your Senator to vote for a public option.

*NYT reports the two Democratic votes were Conrad(D-SD) and Lincoln (D-AK). The committee also voted down a more progressive public option amendment offered by John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) that lost 15-8.