Sen. Joe Says No to Health Public Option
By YVONNE NAVA
Updated 9:15 AM EDT, Wed, Oct 28, 2009
Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is balking at the so-called public option in the latest health care legislation. He’s one of about a dozen moderate senators whose opposition to the option might derail a health care overhaul bill.
Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said he intends to bring the plan to the Senate floor for debate, The Hill reports. The move comes as Senate Democrats fight for 60 votes and Lieberman's opposition might leave them short of the votes needed to prevent a filibuster.
Lieberman, who represents a state known for its insurance industry, says his concern about the Senate bill is based on the national deficit, not the insurers that dominate his state, the Hill reports.
"I do want to make clear, because at least one publication got this wrong," he told the Huffington Post. "What I said this morning and what I've said to Senator Reid is that I'm inclined to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to a debate on health care reform, because I believe we need to have a debate on health care reform and I hope to be in a position to vote yes on health care reform. But, I've also said that if the current proposal remains as it is unamended, before the final vote on the floor, that I will not vote for cloture."
He's also worried it would cost taxpayers too much and drive up insurance premiums.
“Insurers aren’t my biggest concern — I sued them once when I was attorney general, and I’m not afraid to end anti-trust exemptions,” Lieberman told the Hill. “I am really worried about what this could do to the deficit.”
He told the Huffington Post that there has not been much reaction from the Democrats.
"Not really," he said, "because I think my colleagues know for a long time that I've been opposed to a government-created, government-run insurance company."
Lieberman is on the flip side of the bill from Sen. Chris Dodd, who's been a major supporter of the public option.
"Joe and I disagree on the public option," Dodd told the Hartford Courant in a statement. "I and many others support a strong public option because it will save money — and it will introduce more choice and competition into an industry that badly needs both. And I'm optimistic Joe will join us."
The government-run public option would extend health care insurance coverage to millions of people who lack it.
First Published: Oct 28, 2009 6:45 AM EDT
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