The Senate Finance Committee just defeated by a vote of 8-15 an amendment that would have inserted a government-run health insurance option into a Senate health care reform bill that is now being drafted in the Finance Committee.
Every Republican voted against the provision, sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockerfeller, D-W.Va., as did five Democrats.
The committee is now debating another public option amendment, offered by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that is similar to Rockerfeller's idea but would not tie reimbursement rates for doctors to Medicare rates. Instead, those rates would be negotiable.
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