A special update on health insurance reform from AFSCME Director of Legislation Chuck Loveless.

Dear AFSCME Retiree,

Yesterday, we fought a battle for the public health insurance option. Though we didn't win it, we came away with a strong showing that put us in a better position for the coming war.

For AFSCME members in particular, as President McEntee points out, "the bottom line for us is when there is little or no competition, our costs go up, and this is why we need a public plan option."

In the debate on adding a public health insurance option to the Baucus Bill, senators spoke out vigorously in favor of the idea. The intellectual and moral case for the public health insurance option was clear.

The Senate Finance Committee then voted on two public health insurance option amendments offered by Senators Rockefeller and Schumer.

In the end, 10 out of 13 Democrats on the committee — John Rockefeller (WV), Jeff Bingaman (NM), John Kerry (MA), Ron Wyden (OR), Charles Schumer (NY), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Maria Cantwell (WA), Bill Nelson (FL), Robert Menendez (NJ), and Tom Carper (DE) — voted for a public health insurance option.

Three Democrats — Max Baucus (MT), Kent Conrad (ND), and Blanche Lincoln (AR) — sided with the Republicans to defeat these amendments. The final roll call was 10-13.

The Senate Finance Committee is the most conservative committee in Congress; yet a public health insurance option received the overwhelming support of the governing party. And there were some surprises — we picked up more votes than we originally expected.

So what's next?

A public health insurance option has been passed by four out of five committees in Congress and received huge support in the Senate Finance Committee. The next time the public health insurance option will come up for consideration is when Majority Leader Harry Reid merges the Finance bill with the HELP Committee bill.

Yesterday was the first step in building momentum for a public health insurance option in the Senate. Clearly, the idea has weight — even self-described moderates such as Bill Nelson and Tom Carper voted for it. As we move to the floor and into conference, with Senators Schumer, Rockefeller and other champions pledging support and working on their colleagues, those numbers can and will continue to grow.

We remain confident a public option will be in the final bill that lands on President Obama's desk. But it won't happen without the continued actions and involvement of AFSCME's membership, which has been unprecedented these past few months.

Thank you for your continued efforts,

Charles M. Loveless
AFSCME
Director of Legislation

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