A senate panel has voted against both versions of a government-run public health insurance option proposed today.

A senate panel has voted against both versions of a government-run public health insurance option proposed today.

The Washington Post reports that five Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee rejected the first option on Tuesday in a vote of 15-8. They opposed the first option because they weren’t sure it would get all 60 votes needed for it to pass in Senate.

The panel then began discussing another public option amendment for health care reform that was proposed by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York. He argued against the view that a single-payer health care option couldn’t pass Senate, contending that Americans have started warming up to the idea as they hear more about the benefits it offers consumers.

"We are going to get at this, and at this, and at this, until we succeed, because we believe in it so strongly," he said.

Chuck and Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) also argue that having a public option would provide citizens with affordable choices for health insurance. But, on the other side of the aisle, Republicans said that taking up either amendment would only set up health care for complete government control.

Panel Democrats opposed to the public options offered today also took issue with the John’s idea to link medical reimbursement with Medicaid for the first two years of the prospective reform. Simply put, hospitals and doctors that participate in Medicaid would also have to participate in the public option, but they would be reimbursed on the same scale as Medicaid.

"They're getting away with banditry, and they revel in it," John said of insurance companies and their current business practices. He added that, by comparison, his proposal would save more than $50 billion in 10 years.

-- Sonya Eskridge

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