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August 16, 2009
Texas Democrat: Bill without public option 'would be very, very difficult' (Video)
Topics: Political News and commentariesThe American people can't let their guard down yet. Barack Obama's administration may have signaled today that it is ready to abandon the idea of a public option, but there are die-hard pushers of the idea fighting to keep it.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -On the same day that a Cabinet member signaled the administration's willingness to forego inclusion of a public health insurance option in the final version of health care reform legislation, a Texas Democrat who is also a registered nurse suggested that the public option might be a deal breaker for at least some House Democrats.More."It would be very, very difficult," to support a bill that lacked a public health insurance option, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, "because, without the public option, we'll have the same number of people uninsured. If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured.
Johnson added that "an option that would give the private insurance companies a little competition" is "the only way" to be sure that insurance is available to low income people and people without employer-provided coverage.
Johnson also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King that House Democrats have already expressed their desire for a public option to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and even suggested that Pelosi inform the White House that the absence of the public option could be a deal breaker for the House Democratic Caucus.
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Posted by Richard at August 16, 2009 9:31 PM
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