The "Boston Globe" is reporting that the public option has not survived the latest flurry of Senate negotiations. Fearing that the loss of moderate Democrat votes could topple reform efforts, party leadership has given in on one of the last remaining contentious issues in the debate: the public option. Majority leader Reid suggested that passage is near.
Instead of a true public option, the Democrats have agreed to form a new Federal agency that would oversee private insurers. Additionally, the arrangement calls for Medicare to become available to unsureds over age 54; this marks a critical expansion of the program currently available to those over age 64.
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