Tag: public option

The Wall Street Journal Wednesday painted a bleak picture of Capitol Hill Democrats wandering about without a map on health reform in the wake...

Colorado U.S. Rep. Jared Polis drafted a letter with fellow Democratic freshman Chellie Pingree, urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to revisit the Senate...

Colorado Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis's bold move to pass health reform legislation that would include a public health insurance option has gained significant support in the week since he first began circulating among lawmakers and on the web a letter that he co-authored with Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree outlining the idea. Polis sent the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today with the signatures of 120 Representatives attached.

Colorado Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Udall said he shared in the willingness Pres. Obama expressed in his State of the Union address tonight to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans to lift health care reform legislation over the last hurdles and make sure it passes into law. Udall told the Colorado Independent that he saw positive signs in the House chamber during the speech that suggested there is willingness on the part of Democrats and Republicans to work together.

WASHINGTON-- Senate Democrats on Thursday approved the best health care reform bill they could manage: a sweeping $871 billion proposal designed to extend coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and slow the growth of runaway costs. It was at once a monumental achievement, which if signed into law would represent the most expansive overhaul of the nation’s dysfunctional health care system in generations, and a disappointment to many liberals who’d hoped the reforms would go further to rein in the medical-services industries most responsible for the skyrocketing expenses.

Unveiling a modified health reform bill on Saturday, Senate Democratic leaders appear to have cobbled together the 60 votes they’ll need to pass the most expansive overhaul to the nation’s health care system in generations. But winning that support comes at a steep cost.

The Washington Independent last week reported on a letter signed by 30 U.S. Senate Democrats urging Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to include a...

The Washington Independent today launched a "Public Option Scoreboard" that tracks the stances of U.S. senators on health reform. The feature will be updated...

Democrats pushing for a government-backed insurance option as part of their health reform strategy are finding out the hard way that, by taking single payer health care off the table early, they have little leverage now to force a strong public plan.

Senate Democrats could be ready to draft health care reform legislation without the help of Republicans, according to Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, who spoke with reporters Thursday afternoon following a meeting Udall, Sen. Michael Bennet and 15 other Democratic senators held with President Barack Obama. "At some point, after you've extended your hand for a number of months and it's not reciprocated," Udall said, "I think it is incumbent on us as the majority party, with responsibility to govern and solve problems, to act."