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December 9, 2009

Senate Dems Reach Deal on Abandoning Public Option
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Senate Democrats appear to have finalized a deal on removing a
government-funded public insurance option from their healthcare reform
bill. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a group of ten
Democrats had reached “broad agreement” on a so-called “compromise”
proposal. The plan would abandon a government-funded health plan to
compete with private insurers. Instead, the federal Office of Personnel
Management would hire the insurance companies to run the health plans.
Uninsured Americans between the ages of fifty-five and sixty-four would
also be able to obtain coverage through Medicare. Reid says he’ll unveil
the plan after the Congressional Budget Office analyzes its costs.



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