Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on Tuesday that a possible compromise has been reached. At a hastily called news conference, the deal drops the controversial public option in favor of a privately run non-profit insurance program that mirrors the health care program available to public employees. The plan would be supervised by the Office of Personnel which oversees the current plan.
The compromise would also allow uninsured people under the age of 55 to buy into Medicare. Medicare is the massive government-run program for people over 65 years of age. This seemed to gain the support of the more liberal Senators who wanted a public option. However, the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association were wary of the new deal. Medicare pays physicians and hospitals lower rates than private insurance companies.
The compromise gained support from moderate Democrats who have been balking at the idea of a public option. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an Independent who usually votes with Democrats, supported the plan. He had previously indicated that he would not vote for any plan that contained a public option.
Even Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine showed interest in the compromise. The plan included future action by the government if private insurance companies did not lower premiums. She had previously come out in favor of such a "trigger".
It would be a surprise if most Republicans do not come out against the proposal. Their contention has always been that a public option is a prelude to government-run insurance. Medicare is government-run insurance for the elderly. If they really fear a public option, it seems that the expansion of Medicare would not alleviate this fear.
The Democratic architects of the bill are keeping the details secret until they can get a report on the cost of the plan from the Congressional Budget Office. If they can keep the deal under wraps until the CBO report is finished, they can get the numbers before they are released to the public.
As with all negotiations in the health care debate, nothing is certain. Stay tuned for further developments.
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