In a brief afternoon press conference Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that a public insurance option, which will permit states to opt-out if they choose by 2014, will be included in the healthcare reform bill that will be sent to the Senate floor soon. However, the big question remains: Does he have the votes to make it a reality?
To get approved, the measure would need at least 60 votes on the floor. At yesterday's news conference, he remained noncommittal about whether all Senate Democrats and an independent would be onboard. "I feel good about the consensus' reach within our caucus and with the White House. And we are all optimistic about reform because of the investment in momentum that now exists," he said.
"We've spent countless hours over the last few days in consultation with senators who show a genuine desire to reform the healthcare system. And I believed there is a strong consensus for it in this direction," Reid continued. He said that sending the proposal to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring "will make it a step closer to achieving a bill."
Reid said he had spoken to Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the lone GOP vote on the Senate Finance reform bill approved two weeks ago. He said she continued to not support a bill with a public option in it.
Earlier this year, she had proposed a "trigger plan," which would feature nonprofit agencies offering health insurance only in instances in which private insurers could not cover 95% of the residents in their regions with plans costing no more than about 15% of the individual's or household's annual income. The trigger plan is not included in the proposed bill, Reid said.
"I'm always looking for Republicans," Reid said. "It's just been a little hard to find them," he said, referring to the numbers of moderate GOP senators as being "extremely limited . . . I could count then on two fingers . . . [It] makes it really hard to get help from them."
Reid did not discuss in detail how the public option will work. However, some sources have said that the public option plan would be required to negotiate rates directly with healthcare providers—rather than base payments on Medicare rates (which had been called for in House bill). The Senate Finance Committee bill provision allowing for creation of health insurance cooperatives in the states will remain in the version of the bill going to the Senate floor, Reid said.
Republican senators remained wary of the provision. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), speaking on the Senate floor later in the day, said the proposal—even with a state opt-out provision—places the government too far into the private sector. "No matter what you call it—or how you dress it up—the Democrats' proposal is government run insurance," he said.