Conrad On Health Care: "Cooperative Plan" Only Way To Get 60 Votes
The Hill: Healthcare reform legislation containing a cooperative insurance plan for consumers is the only proposal likely to muster 60 votes in the Senate, Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Wednesday. Conrad, also a member of the Senate Finance Committee that's been working furiously to craft a bipartisan health bill, said there's a "good chance" the committee's final bill will include cooperatives in lieu of a public (or "government-run") option. "In the Senate, a cooperative plan is the only one with the prospects of getting 60 votes," Conrad said during an interview on CNBC this morning.