Centrist Dem’s spokesman says nixed public option wouldn’t be enough

[kpete]

Source: Raw Story

Centrist Dem’s spokesman says nixed public option wouldn’t be enough
By Kathleen Miller
Monday, September 28th, 2009 -- 11:38 am

The spokesman for Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu told Raw Story Monday that removing the public option from the Senate’s health care reform bill wouldn’t be enough to win her vote.

“The senator’s number one concern is passing a bill that drives down costs,” Landrieu’s Communications Director Aaron Saunders said during a phone interview with Raw Story. “And that’s costs for families, costs for small businesses and costs for the government.”

A New York Times story indicated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may drop the public option from the final version of the Senate’s health care reform legislation.

According to the Times, in order to appeal to Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe “as well as to centrist Democrats like Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana,” Reid’s effort to reconcile competing health care reform proposals “would not include a proposal for a government-run insurance plan, or public option, despite the clamoring of liberals who support it, senior Democratic Senate aides said.”

Read more: http://rawstory.com/2009/09/centrist-dems-spokesman-nixed-public-option/