Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

October 20, 2009

Daily Pulse: Public Option Gets New Life

On the heels of a new national poll showing growing support for a public option in a health care reform plan, the Wall Street Journal reports the idea, "once on life support in the Senate, is making a recovery among Democrats writing health-care legislation."

"So far, no one is talking about a nationwide Medicare-like plan of the sort sought by many liberals, but several variations short of a national plan are being considered."

"One would establish a national plan only if other proposals in the Democrat-led health overhaul fail to expand insurance coverage. Another would create a government plan, but allow states to opt out. Still another would allow states to opt in to a government plan, or experiment with their own plans. Prospects are growing that one of these variations -- or a blend of them -- will make it into the final Senate bill."

Said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT): "The issue is alive and were looking at it."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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