'Public Plan' Divides Democrats On Health Bills

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Democrats are not in agreement about the inclusion of a government-run public plan in health reform bills.

The Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has pledged to include a government-run insurance option in the House bill that will be voted on next month. This reassures liberals but will make it difficult or impossible to get the votes needed to pass it if the public option is included. … 'I don't see how we get to 218,' said a senior Democratic aide. 'The Blue Dogs are 'Hell nos.' The people who voted yes [on energy] want to vote 'no' twice.'"

"The centrists' concerns were reflected earlier this month when House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), leadership's liaison to the Blue Dogs, suggested a public option might need to be dropped to pass a bill. … This comment contradicted Pelosi's statement a day earlier that she could not get a bill through the House without a public option" (Soraghan and Stoddard, 8/31).

In the meantime, an organizer for liberals in the House told Roll Call that the group "isn't bluffing" to stand against any bill without a public insurance option. "Darcy Burner, executive director of the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation, said the health care debate has rallied traditionally disparate Congressional liberals to hang together, while galvanizing support for their position from an array of left-leaning outside groups. The result, she said, is that Democratic leaders will not be able to clear a package through the House if it does not include the public plan" (Newmyer, 8/31).

Democrats are, however, moving away from a single-payer bill, The Hill reports in a second story: "Some House members who have previously backed a single-payer healthcare reform bill say they will not vote for a similar measure when it hits the floor this fall. Of the 12 serving House members who co-sponsored Rep. John Conyers's (D-Mich.) single-payer bill (H.R. 676) in the last Congress but not in this Congress, four have indicated they will vote no on a single-payer bill to be offered by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)" (Shalleck-Klein, 8/30).

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.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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