Obama’s Bet For A Health Overhaul Bill Could Come Down To The Public Option’s Cost

"Costs and the political calendar are catching up with health care reform," Politico reports. "
Having bet the farm, President Barack Obama needs a win and is willing to settle for a cheaper bill and a weaker public insurance option. Democrats in Congress, increasingly worried about the 2010 elections, want stronger medicine for fear the reforms will prove to be a house of cards if working-class voters can't afford the coverage promised." The plan to include a government-run public option in health care reform is proving to be a war over the affordability of reform overall, with President Obama in the middle of it all. And Obama nearly assured this the case when he insisted on a price and year target for the bill (Rogers, 10/26).