Skepticism greets Reid decision

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's risky decision to bring to the chamber's floor a health-care bill containing a government insurance plan was met with skepticism by moderate Democrats, who said they still do not know whether they could support a "public option" on a final vote.

The latest challenge to the Nevada Democrat's move came from Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who said he was "inclined to support" a procedural motion to bring the Senate health-care bill to the floor. But Lieberman remains opposed to a national government-run insurance plan in any form — even with the "opt out" provision for states that Reid announced Monday he would include in the Senate bill.

"I really want to get to yes," said Lieberman, a political independent who is a member of the Democratic caucus. Unless the public-option language is dropped, however, Lieberman said he likely would align with Republicans to block final passage.

Other moderates said they remain undecided on the "opt out" public plan. "I'm skeptical about what Sen. Reid has proposed," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. Like Lieberman, she opposes a national, government-run insurance plan that would compete with the private sector. But Landrieu gave Reid slightly more reason for optimism, noting she would "stay open to a principled compromise."

Democrats expect Reid to spend the days ahead attempting to secure commitments from all 60 members of his caucus to allow the Senate to begin debate on the legislation, aimed at lowering health-care costs, reforming insurance practices and expanding coverage to roughly 30 million uninsured Americans.

But if moderates' concerns fail to prevent the Senate health-care bill from advancing next month, lawmakers raised the possibility that the "opt-out" provision could be ditched on the Senate floor. Some moderate Democrats are more comfortable with the "trigger" approach that Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has advocated, saying that variant of a public plan is more likely to win 60 votes. Under Snowe's approach, a public plan would be available only in states where private companies failed to offer policies at broadly affordable rates.

"This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. This is the end of the beginning," said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., a Finance Committee member who has agreed to let debate begin on the measure, but wants to make sure any public option would be run by a nonprofit board, rather than the government, and would not be financed by taxpayers.

"The question is, do we have the 60 votes to get to the floor? I hope we do," Carper said. "To get the bill off the floor? We're not there yet. But we'll have a couple of weeks to work on it and, hopefully, at the end of those weeks, we will." Reid said he would take the process one step at a time. "There are a lot of senators, Democrat and Republicans, who don't like part of what's in this bill," he said. "We're going to see what the final product is. We're not there yet."

He also downplayed Lieberman's comments. "I'm sure he'll have some interesting things to do in the way of an amendment," Reid said. "But Joe Lieberman is the least of Harry Reid's problems."

Indeed, Reid's more immediate problem may be Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who, unlike Lieberman, has not pledged to vote to permit debate to begin on a health-care measure. Nelson said he wants to see both the bill and a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office before making a decision. While he has not ruled out the possibility of supporting a public insurance plan, Nelson said he wants to make sure it does not become a "government-run, big-government insurance" company.

Nelson also said he is concerned about tax provisions and a separate proposal to create a new public insurance program for long-term care, known as the CLASS Act (short for Community Living Services and Support). That program would collect premiums in exchange for cash benefits to help cover the cost of home care, adult day programs, and assisted living or nursing homes if a subscriber became disabled.

The proposal has gained momentum in recent days as Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate cast about for ways to help finance a final health package. Because the program would begin taking in premiums immediately but would not start paying benefits until 2016, congressional budget analysts have forecast that it would generate nearly $60 billion over 10 years.

Elsewhere, reaction to Reid's opt-out plan began to filter in from governors. New Jersey Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine said he would opt in. Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he would opt out. In Virginia, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds came under fire from liberal bloggers for his suggestion in a debate Tuesday that he would consider opting out if the public plan did not prove to be the "best way" to provide Virginians "with the most affordable and quality coverage."

House Democrats, meanwhile, said the Senate leader had given fresh momentum to their push to pass a bill with a public option, although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was still rounding up votes Tuesday afternoon.

"Reid was worth 15 votes" in the House, said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., explaining that some Democrats who had been wary of voting for a public option when it appeared unlikely to become law are becoming more comfortable with the idea.

Party leaders hope to bring a measure to the House floor by Nov. 6.

Washington Post reporter

Ben Pershing contributed

to this report.