Reid Pushes Public Option, Ability To Opt-Out

Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Monday that the public option, saddled with a provision that will allow states to individually opt-out, will be included in the final draft of the Senate’s health care reform legislation.

“Under this concept states will be able to determine if the public option works well for them,” Reid said during a late afternoon press conference. “It’s the fairest way to go”

The Senate Majority Leader added that states will have until 2014 to opt-out. Reid noted that there will be plans for a non-profit insurance cooperative in the legislation, but did not provide further comment.

Reid stated that he will not be submitting a “trigger option,” or a mechanism that would launch the public option only if health care providers fail to make essential reforms, for scoring through the Congressional budget office. The “trigger” was heavily supported by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the only Republican on the Senate Finance Committee to vote in favor of moving the legislation out of committee.

Reid responded to the possible alienation of Snowe, lamenting the lack of moderate Republicans in the Senate.

“I’m always looking for Republicans. We looked for Republicans on this,” Reid said. “It’s a little hard to find them. We’ve had to do a lot of this on our own.”

Reid quipped that he could count the number of moderate Republicans among his colleagues on two fingers.

There have been doubts in recent weeks over whether the public option would be included in the Senate’s legislation, with many believing the taxpayer-funded insurance plan would only be in the House bill. Now, as reports arise charging that the House will not have enough votes to pass legislation with the public option, the tables seem to have turned.

Still, during a press conference last Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) appeared far from willing to admit defeat over the inclusion of the controversial plan.

“By no means is the [vote] count complete or has any decision been made,” Pelosi told reporters. “At the end of the day we will have a public option in our legislation.”