skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Pingree Puts Public Option Back on the Table in DC

play audio
Play

Friday, January 29, 2010   

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Maine congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-1st District) and a congressman from Colorado are leading a new push to put the "public option" back on the health care negotiating table. They say the idea is gaining traction on Capitol Hill. Chellie Pingree and Jared Polis (D-2nd District) brought the idea to their party leadership Thursday. Polis recommends the House to pass the Senate bill in its current form, as well as a so-called "fix it" bill, which only addresses provisions with a financial impact. That's the bill he wants to include the public option.

Polis says the public option is key to reform, adding the popularity of the reform bills began to slide when the public option was removed.

"That's when all this talk of new taxes came in - all these other things that aren't only unpopular, but are bad policy in a recession."

Some lawmakers, including Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, fear a public option would be too costly and unfair to insurance companies. However, a December Reuters poll found about 60 percent of the public supports a public option for health care. Polis calls it an important part of keeping overall costs down and giving people more choices.

"It's a critical component of reform, because when you talk about any kind of mandate, people want to make sure you're not forcing them to go to the very insurance companies that have been bilking them all these years."

Such a bill would only require 51 votes to pass the Senate under a process called reconciliation. Some moderate Democrats have said they oppose passing health reform through reconciliation, but Polis believes the Senate has the 51 votes needed for passage.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021