Chances shrink for pure public option

Senate Democrats in search of a health reform compromise Sunday zeroed in on a new alternative to a government-run insurance plan–signaling that the chances a final bill will include a pure public option are diminishing. The new idea–for the government to create a national health insurance plan similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan–seemed to gather momentum as the weekend went on, and the differences between liberals and moderates on the public option became even clearer. The proposal would take the place of a new government insurance plan currently included in the Senate version of the bill, according to officials involved with the negotiations. The plan would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal plan for members of Congress, and all of the insurance options would be not -for-profit ones offered by private companies.