36.thumbnail.jpgAccording to sources familiar with negotiations on the Senate Finance committee, there is a "bipartisan" deal in the works between Baucus, Enzi and Snowe that will not include a public plan, which could pass in the next couple days.  It will include John Kerry’s plan to tax insurance companies on their most expensive plans (those valued at over $25,000 a year). 

Once a bill passes the Finance Committee, it’s up to Harry Reid to reconcile it with the HELP bill.  Because Reid knows there aren’t enough votes in the Senate to pass a public plan, he will not include that part of the HELP bill.  Spending bills have to start in the House, so Reid will attach it as an amendment to some bill to fix potholes or something that passed the House at some point. 

Sources indicate that this is all expected to move quickly — although the situation is still extremely fluid, it could happen in the next few days.

Nancy Pelosi, on the other hand, affirms her commitment to pass a bill that has a public plan, and says that now that the "fiscally responsible" Blue Dogs shook everyone down and added a bunch of pork to the bill like they always do, they are willing to vote for it.  The stumbling block is the chickenshit Democratic freshmen who are squeamish about voting for yet another big spending bill and getting reelected.

Anyway, as was always going to be the case, the only hope for the public plan is coming out of the House.  And the only hope of forcing the Senate’s hand is if there is a roadblock in the House that can’t pass a health care bill without one.  It puts them in the position of tanking health care because they petulantly insist on refusing to give in on something that 76% of Americans want, and the public pressure becomes enormous.

So please tell members of the House to stick around and fight, because with 50 million people in this country uninsured, it isn’t All About Them.

Update:  Reid now says the Senate will not pass a bill before recess.  Obama wants them to stay and keep working.