Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, has said that the Senate version of the bill is so flawed that the whole bill should be killed, in an OP/Ed that she wrote for CNN.
In addition to a lack of a public option, she lists:
- The Senate bill keeping the insurance companies’ antitrust exemption.
- Allowing much higher rates to be charged with older people and people with preexisting conditions.
- Fewer incentives/penalties on employers who do not supply insurance.
- The anti-abortion language, which will have the effect of eliminating abortion coverage in insurance nation wide.
It’s unclear as to whether or not she is suggesting reconciliation or not.
Additionally, Representatives Barbara Lee, head of the CBC, and Lynn Woolsey, head of the CPC, are lobbying to kill the bill without a public option.
I would note that part of the dynamic is a push-back against the proposition that the Senate is calling the shots here.