Sam Stein over at Huffington Post reports that in a closed conference call meeting, the House Democratic Caucus stood in strong support of the public option, and more importantly, wanted it to be in the final conference report coming out of the conference committee:

"Everyone has said on the record that they would support [the public option]. But there is a concern that the conference report would give them an out," said an aide briefed on the call by his boss. "Some people spoke up and said, ‘We can’t give in on the conference report.’"

If the House passes reform with a public option and the Senate moves a bill without it, the two chambers will meet in conference to negotiate a final bill. Some Democrats are concerned that conference negotiators will use the opportunity to yank out the public option. At the same time, there is a sense of fear among some members that the public option — a critical component of health care reform, as far as most Democrats are concerned — might be slipping away in favor of health insurance co-ops.

Wisconsin Democrats David Obey and Tammy Baldwin told the caucus about the performance of the state’s own public health insurance option and co-op. The co-op hasn’t saved the state any money whatsoever and shouldn’t be a model for a national plan, said Obey, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Baldwin concurred, adding that the state’s public option — seniors can buy state-sponsored health care for a nominal fee — cut costs by two-thirds.

"I was surprised there were so many people who were still so firm on [the public option]," said a participant. "A lot of people were saying this is what they’re hearing from their constituents."

It’s because of the massive pushback from us that they’re standing firm on the public option and insisting that it be in the final conference report. The public option is NOT dead according to several newscasters such as Andrea Mitchell, Chuck Todd, and others on MSNBC. It’s still very much alive because of your strong support for the public option, and the work we’ve been doing here at FireDogLake to push the media narrative in the direction of why the public option is a "must" in health care reform and in encouraging our 65 Democratic health care heroes to stand firm on the public option. 

Once again, please donate to our health care heroes via the ActBlue page.

We’ve now raised over $66,000 dollars, a third of the way to our goal of $100,000. Keep up the great work in attending Democratic townhalls, and making sure that these lawmakers hear from us on why the public option is a crucial element of health care reform, and why regional co-operatives are unacceptable!