It’s official -Senate reform bill to include a meaningful public health insurance option

In a turn of events that appeared impossible just two months ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that the health care reform bill he will introduce on the Senate floor will include a public health insurance option operated by the federal government but will permit individual states to ‘opt out’ of participating.

In making the announcement, Reid said-

The public option, with an opt-out, is the one that’s fair.
Via Huffington Post

The Majority Leader went on to say that both the White House and Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, were in support of his choice, although President Obama’s reluctance to clearly state this support – along with reports that Obama holds a more favorable view of the ‘trigger’ option – are causing many to question whether the White House is truly backing the decision.

By making the choice for the opt-out plan, Reid has chosen a risky path, but one that could pay dividends not only with respect to the more liberal members of the Senate, but for the public at large. Recent polls have indicated that approximately 60% of the public now supports a public health insurance option.

The risk comes on the procedural front. In order to prevent a GOP filibuster, Reid will have to deliver 60 votes for cloture.

Not everyone thinks Reid can pull it off.

Associated Press is reporting that Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) told reporters while traveling with President Obama this morning on Air Force One, that,

… he thinks it will be hard for Reid to get 60 votes for a public option plan in which states can opt out. At least four key senators seem opposed. Nelson went on to say that If an opt-out plan passes, he hopes states would not be able to exercise the opt-out for at least two years. Otherwise, Nelson said, the powerful insurance lobby “will convince state legislatures to opt out at the very beginning,” before a public option plan has had a chance to prove its worth.
Via Firedoglake

The procedural votes in question are Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, and perhaps Mary Landrieu, although Landrieu has indicated that she is unlikely to vote to allow the GOP to filibuster.

By including the opt-out measure in the bill going to the floor, Reid may be permitting Democrats who do not support a public option to vote for cloture while voting against the provision when it comes to a substantive vote. This would allow Blue Dogs who face re-election next year to argue to their constituents that they did not support the legislation  -while not committing the highly unusual act of voting against their own party on the procedural vote.

Should the opt-out option pass the Senate and meet with agreement in the Senate – House conference committee, get ready for the health insurance lobbies to make the move out of Washington and descend en masse upon the 50 individual states.