The Medicare+5% public option supported by the Progressive Caucus will not be in the final House health care bill submitted on Thursday, says Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller in an article on Politico.
House Democrats will unveil the final version of their health care bill along with cost estimates on Thursday, according to members and aides briefed on the rollout.
As expected, leaders will include a public option in which doctors can negotiate their rates with the government, despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi's obvious preference for a plan pegged to Medicare. (source)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said he will introduce an amendment to restore the Medicare+5%, the "robust" public option, to the House bill.
"I am not rolling over. I will insist on a Medicare+5 amendment on the Floor so that the full Caucus can vote on it. We are hopeful that the Rules Committee will allow this amendment, which has tremendous public support, to at the very least be voted on for the record," he said.
Grijalva, in pushing for an amendment rather than including the provision in the bill itself, is in conceding defeat in this round, while vowing to press forward.
Demanding an amendment, however, comes with its own set of problems, because conservative Democrats could then demand their own amendments related to abortion and other issues that would garner enough GOP support to pass. ( source)
CBO scoring of the negotiated rates House bill indicates that it will cost an additional $85 billion* more than Medicare+5% robust option.
The negotiated-rates option is said to be the option preferred by members of the Congressional Blue Dog Caucus.
I'm all out of analysis at this point. Make of this what you will.
* My original published draft said "million," a typo that was caught by
Brainwrap (h/t).