WASHINGTON BUREAU — Senate Democratic leaders still have a chance to put a public option provision into the Senate’s health reform bill, according to Sen. Charles Schumer.
“We’re close to getting the 60 votes we need to move forward,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
A public option provision would give individuals and others who use a proposed National Health Insurance Exchange system the opportunity to buy coverage from a government-run health plan.
An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said Sunday that the majority leader could make a decision about a public provision option today.
A spokesman for Reid said the senator will announce his decision about a public option provision later this afternoon.
The House also appears to be close to unveiling its bill, and a vote on the House floor could come the week starting Nov. 6.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told members Friday to be available Nov. 7, and possibly the Monday and Tuesday before Veterans Day, to vote on health reform legislation.