USA Today: During a conference call with reporters today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said the public option is "alive." Baucus, "one of a handful of senators engaged in behind-the-scenes health care negotiations, said Democratic lawmakers are continuing to debate whether to include a government-run health insurance program -- also known as the public option -- and what shape that program might take." He also told reporters that negotiators are looking at the issue and "trying to see what makes the most sense" as they work toward goal of "health care reform that passes the Senate, that gets 60 votes," according to USA Today. He did not say if any one proposal or approach is gaining momentum. The call was organized by Families USA, an organization which "supports health care legislation pending in Congress" (Fritze, 10/20).