Senate Health Overhaul Bill Will Have Public Option: Senate Leader

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that the Senate health-care overhaul legislation will contain language for a government-run public option but that states will have the ability to opt out if they so choose.

At a Capitol Hill press conference, Reid said:

As we've gone through this process, I've concluded, with the support of the White House, Senators Dodd and Baucus, that the best way to move forward is to include a public option with the opt-out provision for states. Under this concept, states will be able to determine whether the public option works well for them and will have the ability to opt out if they so choose. I believe that a public option can achieve the goal of bringing meaningful reform to our broken system. It will protect consumers, keep insurers honest and ensure competition. And that's why we intend to include it in the bill that we submitted -- that will be submitted to the Senate.