Why Reid Shouldn’t Include The Public Option In The Merged Senate Bill

Think Progress by Igor Volsky | Oct. 5, 2009 (Opinion)

Lawrence O’Donnell — who served as Senate Finance Committee staff director during the debate over President Clinton’s failed health care reforms — tells Politico’s Live Pulse that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) shouldn’t merge the Senate Finance Committee’s health bill with the HELP Committee’s far more progressive alternative. Sen. George Mitchell tried that in 1994 and Republicans went line-by-line successfully defeating the bill Full Story »

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Kiku Botura
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 by Kiku Botura - Oct. 6, 2009

The supports Lawrence O'Donnell's opinion that the public option should be left out of the Senate's final bill, protecting it from being dismantled, and then reintroduced at the final conference. The argument is that other elements will be addressed, and the gaping hole in the assumption is that HOW the insurance will be provided will not be addressed in Senate. I don't believe that will be the case, some mechanism will be provided one way or another, and the discussion of HOW will be had. By leaving it out, it makes it harder to include it in the final conference. I completely disagree with this opinion, and find the logic flawed, although interesting and well written.

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