Loading ...FOXNews.com
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the so-called public option — a government-run health care plan that would be just one component of a broader health care overhaul — is “not the essential element.”
Even as Democrats claim the outrage seen at town hall meetings across the country does not reflect public opinion on health care reform, the Obama administration is changing tactics and signaling that it’s ready to compromise on a key element of its reform push.
The shift suggest that critics of Democrats’ health care reform plans are having an impact, and could change the course of debate in Washington once Congress returns from recess.
On Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the so-called public option — a government-run health care plan that would be just one component of a broader health care overhaul — is “not the essential element.”
She suggested the White House could settle for a system of insurance cooperatives instead, something the Senate Finance Committee is considering.
“I think there will be a competitor to private insurers,” Sebelius said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That’s really the essential part, is you don’t turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices, we need some competition.”
