Public Option May Get Dropped From Healthcare Reform Plan

After weeks of a high tension health care debate, it looks like President Obama has begun to downplay one of the most contentious aspects of his health care reform plan - the public insurance option. Earlier this week Obama referred to the public option as a "sliver" of the overall health care plan during a Colorado town hall, which caused a number of angry liberal talking heads to quickly fire back with a reminder that the public option was the centerpiece of Obama's health care reform plan during the campaign. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius then followed up on the president's comment by saying today that the public option was not essential to health care reform.

With the White House now pushing buzz phrases like "choice and competition," it looks like they are reaching out to more moderate members of congress to finally get some form of health care reform passed. I suspect that liberals will be quick on the president's heels, proclaiming that health care without a public option, health care reform won't do enough to make the kind of difference the president promised.