Liberals push Reid to stand by public option in health bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to hold together members of his caucus to vote for a government-run public option for health insurance that would allow states to opt-out of the plan — a plan that is getting an icy reception, even among Democrats, Bloomberg reports. Reid's "version … probably won't require employers to cover workers and will be funded through a tax on high-end insurance plans, which would put him at odds with House Democrats. … He also hasn't won over the two Republicans most likely to back the bill, Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins" (Jensen and Litvan, 11/16).

Reid remains at least three votes shy of passing a bill with that provision, The New York Times reports. "The three Democratic holdouts, Senators Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, have all expressed reservations about the public plan" (Herszenhorn, 11/16).

Meanwhile, "A clutch of Senate liberals pressed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to stand firm behind a public insurance option Monday afternoon in the face of filibuster threats from Republicans and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)," Roll Call reports. The liberals would not say whether they spoke to Reid about using the "filibuster-busting budget reconciliation" maneuver to pass the bill, but some lawmakers had pushed for that move earlier (Dennis and Pierce, 11/16).

"Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who requested the meeting with Reid, said progressives believe they have compromised enough on the public option - from a Medicare-for-all proposal to Reid's proposal to create a national government plan with a provision for states to opt-out," Politico reports. A Senate aide said the lawmakers had planned to discuss the reconciliation tactic. Brown said, "[W]e're confident that over time, as the debate unfolds and we take amendment after amendment after amendment, that we can get 60 votes" (Brown, 11/16).