Senate Democrats are quietly crafting a compromise over the so-called public option behind closed doors -- two days after a pivotal Senate panel struck down amendments to create the government-run program, congressional aides told FOX News.
Thereby leading to the conclusion that the objective isn't a health care bill, but a "public option" camel's nose.
| No, no, perish the thought! |
Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, is spearheading the effort as a way to appease liberal Democrats -- vying for a government-run insurance option -- as well as party moderates and Republicans who claim it will lead to a single-payer system.
Carper is proposing what one aide called "an opt in plus a trigger," which would allow individual states to choose to create a public option to compete with private insurers in their state. He's also proposing a non-profit cooperative, which is a member-owned group that assembles a network of salaried providers and negotiates payment rates with them. States could opt to create both, Carper says, but it would be up to the decision of states. Carper's compromise would also allow states to create their own health care exchanges to permit interstate insurance pools.
Senate Democrats are hoping to appeal to moderate Republicans, especially Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, in passing some form of a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers.
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, said Thursday that the panel was nearing a vote, saying he has "high hopes" of finishing work on the bill by day's end.
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