Leading Democrats Call Public Option Essential To Meaningful Health Reform

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 19 Aug 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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A number of congressional Democrats on Monday expressed concern about the White House's apparent willingness to compromise on a public plan option in health reform legislation, the Washington Post reports (Kornblut/Bacon, Washington Post, 8/18). The debate is over whether a public option, long considered a central element of the Democratic health care overhaul, should be dropped in favor of the more bipartisan proposal of establishing not-for-profit health care cooperatives (Zeleny/Hulse, New York Times, 8/18). Over the weekend, Obama administration officials signaled that the president would be willing to consider legislation that did not include a public option but promoted "choice and competition."

On Monday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) called a public option "a must." Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said that "without a public option, I don't see how we will bring real change to a system that has made good health care a privilege for those who can afford it." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose chamber's health reform bill (HR 3200) includes a public option, said, "There is strong support in the House for a public option," but she did not demand that the Obama administration express support. According to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), without a public option, the legislation could lose up to 100 Democratic votes in the House (Washington Post, 8/18).

Obama administration officials on Monday emphasized that the president still supports a public option and that he has not made any decisions about dropping the provision to make the legislation more attractive to moderate lawmakers (New York Times, 8/18). White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the president's "preference is a public option" and that if "there are other ideas, he's happy to look at them" (Washington Post, 8/18). White House aides said that the president will not commit to a public option or a co-op for at least the next month (New York Times, 8/18).

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