The opt-out is in.
The Senate healthcare reform legislation will include a form of public option that would allow states to opt out of participating in a government-run insurance plan if they choose.
And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says his Democrats will support it.
“While the public option is not a silver bullet, I believe it’s an important way to ensure competition and to level the playing field for patients with the insurance industry,” Reid said.
But by including the opt-out, the Democrats lost the lone Republican senator to vote for healthcare legislation — Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine — who opted out because of the opt-out.
Snowe, who favored a trigger (those of you following the debate know what that means), says she’s “deeply disappointed” with Reid’s decision.
And the responses are rolling in:
Republican Senator Judd Gregg says: “Assuming that the states will opt-out of a federally subsidized government-run plan is like assuming your children will opt-out of their allowance.”
