Wachovia analyst Matt Perry had this to say after the Senate Finance Committee rejected the controversial public health insurance option:
On Tuesday the Senate Finance Committee voted down two separate amendments that would have created a government run public insurance option. The first amendment, introduced by Senator Rockefeller, was defeated on a 15-8 vote – with 5 Democrats joining all 10 Republicans in opposition. Rockefeller’s amendment would have been the ”strong public plan”, paying Medicare rates and forcing providers to accept it. The second amendment, introduced by Senator Schumer, was defeated 13-10. Schumer’s version was a ”weak public plan”. The defeat of these two amendments means that the Senate Finance bill will not include a public option (although it could include co-ops). This development is not surprising, but the fact that neither vote was close deals a blow to supporters of the public plan and is a positive sign for health insurers, in our view.
Note that five Democrats voted against the Rockefeller amendment and three voted against the Schumer amendment — meaning that these Democrats were the swing votes. So much for Republicans being the only ones obstructing real reform.
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