Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), one of the “gang of six” Finance Committee members negotiating a health care reform bill, said today that the committee’s bill will not include a public option.
“We have not had the public option on the table,” Snowe told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “It’s been co-ops, and addressing the availability and affordability of plans through the exchange.”
Snowe’s comments affirm weeks of speculation and hints that the committee would not incorporate the public option into its bill.
When asked later about her statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said only, “The president has said over and over that his goal is to offer more choices to bring costs down … and the best way to do that is a public option.” But if there are better ideas out there, Burton said, President Obama is open to them.
