Senate Panel Shoots Down Public Insurance Option

Trying hard to make sure that a government-run insurance option is included in pending health care reform legislation, liberal Democrats were disappointed yesterday as they twice failed to get their wish. As moderate Democrats try to get a bill passed, Montana Democrat Max Baucus, who is the Senate Finance Committee chairman and the leader in the Senate push for a legitimate healthcare bill, was happy for the votes yesterday, as both he and the White House hold out hope that a moderate Republican will come over to their side if the bill that is voted on is likewise moderate.

The votes occurred yesterday amidst Democrats’ efforts to keep the spending for a new overhaul to around $900 billion, the amount suggested by the White House. One of the options being bandied about would reduce the number of Americans who would be eligible for federal health insurance subsidies to about $43,000 for a single person and $88,000 for a family of four people.

Baucus, working tirelessly to put forth legislation that can succeed, noted, "The public option would help to hold insurance companies’ feet to the fire, I don’t think there’s much doubt about that, but my first job is to get this bill across the finish line. No one shows me how to get 60 votes with a public option." Senator Chuck Schumer – the New York senator whose coat pockets are lined with the dollars of Wall Street political contributions, noted, "With some work and some compromise, we can get the 60 votes on the floor of the Senate that will make our system better by providing for a strong, fair and viable public option."