Public Option Chess Match: Reid Working For Best Bargaining Position

Sam Stein
HuffPost

There was a slew of good news on Thursday for supporters of a public option for health insurance coverage. Two Democratic Senators who have nominally opposed the provision -- Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Kent Conrad of North Dakota -- acknowledged, somewhat begrudgingly, that the White House was fairly certain to include it in a final health care overhaul. Another public option drifter, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) said he was open to its inclusion. ABC News, meanwhile, reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had come to the conclusion, following conversations with several key senators, that "he can pass a bill with a public option."

In actuality, the situation is not so clear or, for that matter, optimistic for the progressive community. In conversations with more than half a dozen health care strategists and Hill aides, the consensus seems to be that while momentum is growing for a public option, Senate Democrats still don't have the 60 votes needed to pass a non-compromised version.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/22/chess-match-reid-working_n_330638.html