Senate revisits public healthcare option

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Senate Democratic leaders, pressed by the party's liberal wing, are considering reviving a public option in the U.S. healthcare reform bill, lawmakers said.

The Senate Finance Committee bill doesn't include a government health insurance plan. However, the idea has gained strength recently as Democrats -- including moderates -- want to ensure that medical policies Americans would be forced to buy are affordable, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Senate negotiators, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, are developing a roadmap for reform that combines the finance panel's legislation with a more liberal Senate health committee bill that includes a government health insurance option. Three House measures, now under negotiation to create one bill in that chamber, also have a public option.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California told a closed-door meeting of Democrats that she is close to counting 218 votes for a public plan linked to Medicare rates, preferred by liberals in both chambers, meeting attendees told the Post. Pelosi said, however, a final decision has not been made.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates indicate that the House could develop a package with a "robust" public option for about $871 billion over a 10-year period, CNN reported. The CBO's preliminary report also indicated the Democrats' bill reduces the deficit in the first 10 years.

In the Senate, Reid said he was polling party moderates to determine how much wiggle room he may have before releasing the Senate version of the bill, possibly Friday.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., who supports a public option, said his conversations with Reid indicate the majority leader "is trying to figure out a way that he can bring that (public option) forward without jeopardizing the ability of getting the necessary votes for this bill."