Conrad: 'Public option' a 'wasted effort'

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The Obama administration's fight to include a "public option" in its health insurance reform package has been a "wasted effort," a senior U.S. Democrat says.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said on "Fox News Sunday" there are not enough votes in the Senate to approve a measure hotly opposed by the U.S. insurance industry to include a government-backed insurance option, much like Medicare for the elderly, to compete with private plans.

"Look, the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option," Conrad said. "There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort."

Instead, Conrad said there would be backing in the Senate for an alternative to the public option: non-profit insurance co-ops.

"It's not a public plan at all in the sense that government runs it," he said. "Once it's established, it is run by the members. That's why it is appealing to some on the Republican side."

"I think that's something we should look at," added Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. "We already have a lot of (co-ops), or something like them, non-profit, basically, that seem to work."