Dem sens push gov’t health insurance plan

A government-run public option health insurance program will be part of healthcare reform, two Democratic senators declared Thursday, despite acknowledging the proposal likely will not survive committee action.

Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), both members of the Finance Committee, said they plan to offer amendments Friday on the public option when the panel continues to mark up healthcare legislation.

“The healthcare bill that is signed into law by the president will have a good, strong, robust public option,” Schumer asserted in a bold prediction seconded by Rockefeller.

The public option is a litmus test for healthcare reform among many on the political left who set aside their goal of enacting a single-payer government healthcare plan that would cover everyone. Schumer and Rockefeller contended that a government program would provide competition to private insurers.

But even though the public option proposals on the table would be voluntary, Republicans view it as a stalking horse for a complete government takeover of the healthcare system.

The two liberal senators face a seemingly insurmountable challenge in getting their proposal adopted by the Finance Committee. Democrats outnumber Republicans on the panel 13 to 10 but members of the majority party do not universally support the public option.

Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) both oppose the public option and can be expected to oppose the Rockefeller and Schumer amendments.

Moreover, Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) left the public option out of his draft bill, at least partly in an unsuccessful attempt to win Republican support. Baucus also frequently points to skepticism among centrist Democrats about the public option as proof it could not pass the Senate.

“Even though the public option may be an underdog in the Finance Committee, don’t count it out,” Schumer said.

Instead of a public option, the Baucus bill would create federally chartered, not-for-profit healthcare cooperatives. Rockefeller rejects this as a potential compromise.

Rockefeller and Schumer said that the debate over the public option in the Finance Committee is merely one stage in their effort to include the policy in the final healthcare bill.

“I think we have a real good chance on the Senate floor to get one,” Schumer said.

But neither senator would say whether the lack of a public option would cause them to vote against a healthcare reform bill on the floor. “I don’t think I want to draw any lines in the sand,” Schumer said.

A separate healthcare bill already approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee includes a public option, as does legislation passed by three House committees.

President Barack Obama also favors a public option, Rockefeller noted. But the White House has sent signals to Capitol Hill that a government insurance plan is not necessarily an essential part of reform.

In particular, the White House’s efforts to court Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) have focused in her proposal to establish a “trigger” for the public option that would only be pulled if insurance companies fail to provide adequate coverage.

Liberals like Rockefeller and Schumer reject the trigger compromise, saying it would be designed to never take effect.

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