Senators Who Support The Public Option Hope Resistant Moderates Will 'Come Around'

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"Democratic Senators in favor of including a public insurance option in health care reform expect resistant moderates … to come around once they see the details of the final legislation," Roll Call reports. Centrists such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., have suggested that they may not support reform with a public option. "Senate Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) said Wednesday that moderates are likely to climb on board once they read the final bill" (Drucker, 10/28).

ABC News: "When majority leader [Harry] Reid put the controversial 'public option' back on the table this week, he did so confident that Lieberman, short of outright supporting it, would at least allow it to pass. [But] Lieberman dropped a bombshell when [he] announced he would not vote" to move forward on a health reform bill that includes a government-run health plan (Schutzman, 10/28).

CBS News: Meanwhile, "Sen. Evan Bayh, a moderate Democrat from Indiana, said Wednesday that he may not be able to support a motion to proceed with the health care debate on the Senate floor, depending on what is included in the bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) brings forward." Bayh said he was "less focused" on the public option, but was worried "a couple elements" in the bill could raise premiums for families with insurance (Condon, 10/28).

Chicago Tribune: Democratic leaders are also creating some friction on the left. The White House recently dispatched health care adviser Nancy-Ann DeParle to meet with Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois. "It signals that the White House is not taking for granted the support of Burris" for the health-reform bill. He has called for an even broader government-run plan than Senate Democratic leaders offered (Skiba, 10/29).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

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