Nov 2, 2009 6:28 am US/Eastern
Debate Continues Over Public Option, Health Care
WASHINGTON (KDKA) ―
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Sophiya Chacko, a registered nurse with the University of Miami hospital, checks on Grace Alduino as she is prepared for a heart procedure while President Barack Obama is seen on a television screen addressing a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A new report by the Congressional Budget Office could have an impact on the future of the ongoing health care debate.
The report found that most Americans - under the age of 65 - would not sign up for insurance under the public option of the ongoing health care debate.
The public option would essentially be an insurance plan offered by the government.
Supporters of the idea believe a public option would drive down the cost of private insurance premiums, while opponents believe it could lead to the collapse of the insurance industry.
President Obama - once committed to the idea - has not said recently whether he would sign a reform bill without a public option.
"I think both the House and the Senate are going to move forward on bills that likely will have a public option," said White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod.
"I think the President believes the public option is valuable to create competition within the insurance industry … among this group of people who don't have insurance today. It will reduce costs, and it will be a positive thing," Axelrod said. "So he is eager for it to be in the bill."
But Pat Toomey, a candidate for the Senate, said he doesn't believe the current bill offers the kind of reform that will help families or the economy.
"The Democratic bill in Washington is designed to drive people off of private insurance onto a government plan whether they like it or not," Toomey, who visited the local area this weekend, said. "It's loaded; it mandates a trillion dollars in spending, huge tax increases. It's very disruptive."
While the debate rages on in Washington, talk show hosts like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are using the healthcare debate to fuel other discussions as well.
"The number one thing that has to be addressed, 80 percent of our healthcare dollars in America are spent on chronic disease," he said while also visiting the area this weekend. "Our real crisis is not a healthcare crisis, it's a health crisis."
Floor debate on health care reform could begin in the House sometime this week.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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