Senate Finance Committee rejects public option

The Senate Finance Committee yesterday rejected two proposals that called for government-run insurance options to compete with private insurers in the proposed health care reform legislation.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, of West Virginia, and Sen. Charles Schumer, of New York, both have backed a public option, which they said would drive down insurance costs and save families money.

The final vote on the Rockefeller amendment was 15-8, with five Democrats joining Republicans in voting against the amendment. Schumer’s proposal, which called for negotiation with doctors and hospitals, rather than setting prices based on Medicare reimbursement rates, was defeated 13-10, with three Democrats voting no.

“Our job is to protect the American people, not protect insurance company profits. The American people have asked for real solutions that protect their families and their economic security — a public option does just that,” Rockefeller said in a press release after the vote.

But those who voted against the bills countered that a government-run plan would ultimately force private insurers out of business.

“A government takeover could force private insurers out of the industry and could force hundreds of millions of Americans, against their will, into government-run health care,” Senator John Ensign, of Nevada, said in a press release. “A public plan, with one signature from President Obama, could destroy our health care industry as we know it and turn every one of our health care decisions over to government bureaucrats.”

The votes marked a victory for Chairman Max Baucus’s health care reform bill, which generally adheres to conditions that Obama has called for, including a ban on companies denying insurance on the basis of preexisting conditions. The bill also provides subsidies to help lower-income Americans afford insurance.