The Senate Finance Committee voted down the main "Public Option" amendment Tuesday. 15 Senators voted "NO". 8 voted "Yes".
As you might imagine, all the Republicans voted no on the amendment but would you like to know the Democrats on the committee thate voted no?
They were as follows:
Max Baucus
Kent Conrad
Blanche Lincoln
Ben Nelson
Tom Carper
The Republicans that voted no were:
Chuck Grassley
Orrin Hatch
Olympia Snowe
Jon Kyl
Jim Bunning
Mike Crapo
Pat Roberts
John Ensign
Mike Enzi
John Cornyn
The Democrats that voted yes were:
John Rockefeller
Jeff Bingaman
John Kerry
Ron Wyden
Charles Schumer
Debbie Stabenow
Maria Cantwell
Robert Menendez
There are still many more twists and turns in this process so don't think that just because the Senate Finance Committee rejected a public option that there won't be one in a final bill. Stay tuned.
Below is a description of the amendment out forward by Senator Rockefeller (By the way, another public option amendment by Senator Charles Schumer was also voted down)
This amendment would add a strong public health insurance option, the Consumer Choice Health Plan (CCHP), to the exchange to compete directly with private plans. Like private health plans, CCHP would be offered to all individuals and businesses purchasing health insurance through the national health insurance exchange. To guarantee plan availability nationwide, public program provider networks will be used.
The Consumer Choice Health Plan will be financially self-sustaining (subject to an annual third party audit). The plan administrator will establish and fund a contingency reserve for CCHP in a manner similar to that of the contingency reserve established by OPM for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. Funds to operate the plan shall be derived from premiums for individuals enrolled under the plan.
To help enrollees afford the cost of coverage, the same premium subsidies would be provided to enrollees in CCHP as those offered to consumers enrolled in private health plans. Any additional revenue gained under this public plan option would be reinvested in CCHP in the form of reduced premiums and cost-sharing or increased benefits.
At a minimum, the Consumer Choice Health Plan would be required to follow the same insurance regulations as private plans operating in the exchange. CCHP would also be required to offer the same type of plans as private plans participating in the exchange. Minimum benefit requirements for children would be based on the pediatric care guidelines provided by Bright Futures, which offers evidenced-based direction on the provision of well-child and other primary health care services. The provider payment rates for the first two years of CCHP would be based on Medicare provider payment rates, including new delivery models enacted as part of health reform. For subsequent plan years beyond the first two years, CCHP would be required to determine competitive provider payment rates based on public and private best practices, integrated models of care delivery (such as medical home and chronic care coordination), evidence-based practices, quality improvement, and the use of health information technology.
This amendment would also establish America‘s Health Insurance Trust to give consumers a voice in health insurance oversight. This nonprofit, consumer-driven organization will evaluate and give ratings to all health insurance products offered through the national health insurance exchange based on factors such as affordability, adequacy, transparency, consumer satisfaction, provider satisfaction, and quality.
The CCHP shall not include abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother. It also prohibits the expenditure of Federal funding for abortion and it requires the segregation of funds to ensure that no Federal dollars pay for abortions.