'I would tend not to' support the public option, says Landrieu
WASHINGTON (CNN) – A moderate Senate Democrat who is a possible swing vote in Republicans’ favor on health care reform said Sunday she is not likely to support a robust public health insurance option and believes that reform proposals should focus on lowering health care costs.
“I would tend not to,” Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union when asked whether she would support a public health insurance option included in health care reform bills passed by committees in the House of Representatives. “But, we’ve got to keep working to find solutions,” Landrieu added.
“There are some portions of our health care system that are working, but it’s all too expensive.”
The Democrat told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King she thinks costs could be contained without the inclusion of a public health insurance option. She said she supports an alternative proposal co-sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, that focuses on “providing insurance through the free marketplace with the right regulations and safeguards.”
Landrieu also told King “it would be very difficult” for her to support a health care reform bill that allowed taxpayer-funded abortions even though “general insurance policies now – subsidized through the government by the tax code – allow women to make those choices right now, again, within the confines of the Constitution.”
Because of her moderate to conservative views, Landrieu has become a target of some Senate Republicans hoping to win her vote on any health care reform bill presented to the full Senate later this year. On Friday, two Senate Republicans, who are also both medical doctors, paid a visit to Landrieu’s state to discuss health care reform.
but she has a public option....her healthcare coverage is a government plan. It's good enough for her but not for us....are we eating this pablum?????
Sen. Landrieu is a very wise Democrat.
It is refreshing to hear a government program described as "too expensive."
She has no other way but to oppose public option. Otherwise she will be thrown out of the senate by the voters.
Atleast not all DEM Senators are blind with their Messiah.....
I hope she maintains her word.
A public option is NOT the right way to go. The more government gets in our way, the more they mess up things!!! Let us live in peace and in freedom!
Smart Woman.
This lady needs to go – I wouldn't call her a moderate democrat, I'd call her a moderate republican.
How much is she getting from Insurance company lobbyists?
health Insurance Reform now is what we need
Please, without the public option there is no meaningful solution for universal coverage and lower heath care costs.
Do the right thing. Act in the best interests of the people you serve and not the corporations who pony up the money for your re-election campaign.
She is absolutely right. The proposals should focus on reducing the cost of health care so everyone that wants health care can afford. it. Government health care is not the answer.