M
mrhealthguy
Guest
what you guys think of In what is the first setback for US President Barack Obama in a centerpiece policy issue, the Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly voted to throw out the government-run health insurance plan, dubbed the “public option.”
The proponents of the plan lost twice, first by 15 to 8 and next by 13 to 10, attempts at adopting the “public option” on September 29.
Three Democratic Party senators - Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas - voted against both proposals.
Under the proposed plan, the government can agree on rates with physicians, hospitals, and other health providers as an alternative to another proposal which would have linked the plan's rates to those paid by Medicare for two years.
Medicare is a US government social insurance program for providing medical care, especially to the aged and the disabled.
Despite the disappointment, the White House tried to put on a brave face on the defeat in the Senate. A White House spokesman, Reid Cherlin, said that while the president still believes in making a public option available to those without health insurance, Obama is “open to other constructive ideas of increasing choice and competition.”
The Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, with 60 out of the 100 seats.
The proponents of the plan lost twice, first by 15 to 8 and next by 13 to 10, attempts at adopting the “public option” on September 29.
Three Democratic Party senators - Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas - voted against both proposals.
Under the proposed plan, the government can agree on rates with physicians, hospitals, and other health providers as an alternative to another proposal which would have linked the plan's rates to those paid by Medicare for two years.
Medicare is a US government social insurance program for providing medical care, especially to the aged and the disabled.
Despite the disappointment, the White House tried to put on a brave face on the defeat in the Senate. A White House spokesman, Reid Cherlin, said that while the president still believes in making a public option available to those without health insurance, Obama is “open to other constructive ideas of increasing choice and competition.”
The Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, with 60 out of the 100 seats.