Released: October 27, 2009

Healthcare bill will include public option

Source: Shailagh Murray & Lori Montgomery, Washington Post (Free Registration)

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid announced Monday that he will include a government-backed insurance plan in the chamber’s health-care reform legislation, a key concession to liberals who have threatened to oppose a bill without such a public option.

Reid’s decision was a reversal from two weeks ago, when the Nevada Democrat appeared inclined to set aside the idea—among the most divisive in the reform debate—in an attempt to avoid alienating party moderates. Doubts remain about whether he has the votes to guarantee passage, but he said he concluded that in the interest of bringing the strongest possible bill to the Senate floor next month, adding a public option was a risk worth taking.

The Senate provision would give states the right to opt out of a government plan.

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