According to a few Democratic sources, liberal and moderate Democrats are said to have come to a broad agreement on the public option portion of the Senate health bill. The agreement is supposed to replace the public option by creating a not-for-profit private insurance option overseen by the federal Office of Personnel Management. This would allow people of fifty five years and older to buy into Medicare that is currently only available to those who are sixty five and older.
Russ Feingold, a liberal senator from Wisconsin who is working on the deal has an opposing opinion. He disagrees with the idea of replacing the public option because he believes that it is necessary to have competition amongst the insurance industry in order to keep rates down and save taxpayer dollars.
Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine and Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut typically oppose a public option, were both interested in the idea of a nonprofit private alternative to a public opinion. Lieberman also said that he would join a Republican “filibuster” if the health care bill contains a public option. But he strived to make a point about the concern of allowing people of age fifty five to buy into Medicare. He states that it might add an additional burden to the program, which unfortunately is already going bankrupt.
Overall the idea is more of an interest to liberal Democrats whom are trying to expand health coverage. The new proposals also would give money to states that would allow them to cover low-income people through existing programs instead of Medicaid. Snowe was in opposition with this part of the deal. Stating that without a doubt, it is too expensive of a proposition.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/08/health.care/index.html
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