Public Option May Drop From Health Insurance Reform

Public Option May Drop From Health Insurance Reform in Politics and Legislation

Things are not looking good for the public option. It hasn’t been ruled out, but we’ve all picked up on how much the White House is downplaying its importance.

Just yesterday, health and human services secretary Kathleen Sebelius remarked that a public plan was “not the essential element” needed for reform and brought up the notion of co-ops instead during an interview on CNN.

In a town-hall-style meeting on Saturday in Grand Junction, CO, the president said, “The public option, whether we have it or we don’t have it, is not the entirety of health care reform... This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it.”

Sounds like pre-breakup talk to us.

But if Senator Kent Conrad’s assertion that there is insufficient support for it in the Senate is correct, it may come down to the public option or no health insurance reform at all. This is a tough one to call. The public plan has been a central component of health care overhaul, one that stands to really change things — which is also why it has emerged as a flashpoint for anger and opposition.

However, it’s not clear that dropping it would garner the support the bill needs to pass the Senate. While it would certainly bring on board some Republicans and moderate Democrats, it could alienate liberal Democrats, whose support is also vital.

And while some would suggest nonprofit co-ops as a palatable compromise, there are considerable issues with this health insurance co-op option, which we blogged about last month. But it may be the only politically realistic option:  A bill featuring a nonprofit co-op is expected shortly from the Senate Finance Committee.

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