As expected, the Senate Finance Committee just rejected two amendments that would have created a new, government-backed health insurance plan to compete against private insurers. In other words, the public option. All of the panel’s Republicans and a few Democrats voted against the measures — one, from Jay Rockefeller, went down by a 15-8 vote; another, from Chuck Schumer, lost 13-10. This is a major blow to what has been one of the most contentious elements of the health-care debate this year. All along, everybody’s pointed to Senate Finance as central to shaping the health-overhaul legislation. And Max Baucus, the committee’s chairman, maintained his opposition to the public option today, arguing that a bill that includes the public option wouldn’t be filibuster-proof. Nevertheless, this isn’t the end of the debate over the public option. Bills approved earlier this year by three House committees and the Senate HELP committee all include versions of a government-backed insurance plan. Given the disparity between the Finance and HELP committee bills, it’s not entirely clear

whether the bill that ultimately makes it to the Senate floor will include a public option. But the Finance Committee’s bill is expected to carry great weight as Democratic leaders try to bring a bill to the floor. If the legislation coming out of the committee doesn’t include a public option, Democratic backers are likely to try to tack one on. And if the full Senate passes a bill that doesn’t include a public option, but the full House passes a bill that does include one, the fight could go all the way to the conference committee, in which the House and Senate hash out a final bill to send to the president. “It is important to continue to work with our colleagues to bring this issue to the Senate floor, and all the way to conference if we have to,” Schumer said in prepared remarks quoted by the WSJ .

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After Defeat in Senate Finance, What’s Next for Public Option?