News coverage of the Sunday talk shows centered around whether a "public option" will be included in health overhaul legislation.
Associated Press: The White House and its Democratic allies on Sunday tried to play down the role of a government insurance option in health care legislation as the party in power worked to reclaim momentum on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. His spokesman described the public option as just one way to achieve Obama's goal of providing coverage to the estimated 45 uninsured Americans without insurance. His senior adviser contended the White House was ready to accept that Congress would reject the idea, though he, too, said it was an option, not a make-or-break choice (Elliott, 9/13).
Reuters: "A key group of U.S. senators was 'very close' to agreement on healthcare reform, one of its members said on Sunday, suggesting Congress was nearer to meeting President Barack Obama's goal of passing a reform bill this year. 'We think we are very close to an agreement,' said Senator Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and part of the "Gang of Six" bipartisan group that is trying to forge consensus, on 'Fox News Sunday.' Lawmakers have struggled to find common ground in the debate over healthcare reform, hampering Obama's efforts to push through his top domestic policy priority" (Kaiser, 9/13).
CBS News: "Moderate Republican Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said a public option in the health care bill is 'universally opposed by all Republicans in the Senate' and called it 'a roadblock to building the kind of consensus that we need to move forward,' on 'Face the Nation' Sunday. '[T]herefore, there's no way to pass a plan that includes the public option,' she told moderator Bob Schieffer. She said that the president 'should be more specific' on where he stands on the public option ... She said flexibility on the public option could lead to compromise in the Senate on other issues but lamented that the president has made the debate 'unpredictable.'
"Snowe was the first to recommend the possibility of the trigger option which would set a deadline for insurance companies to provide affordable coverage. 'It's not on the table. And it won't be' in the Senate Finance Committee, she admitted though" (Levi, 9/13).
Related KHN story: Obama's Speech Leaves Room For Snowe's Compromise To Put Off Public Option
CQ Politics reports that also on 'Fox News Sunday,' Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill "noted that the 'public option in some ways has become a distraction. The meat of this matter is that we're losing 14,000 Americans from health insurance every day. The meat of the matter is that most middle-class families are worried that they won't be able to afford health insurance next year. And the bottom line is any deficit hawk cannot look you in the eye and honestly say we can do anything about the deficit if we don't bring down health care costs."" (9/13).