Senate Health Plan to Have 'Opt-Out' Public Option

The New York Times reports that Senate majority leader Harry Reid has announced that the health insurance reform bill he will introduce in the Senate will have a public option, but one that allows individual states to 'opt-out' if they choose.

From the article it's not clear under what conditions, if any, states could choose to opt-out of coverage.

Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who was the only Republican to vote for the Senate Finance Committee's version of health insurance reform, is quoted in the article as saying she is "deeply disappointed with the majority leader’s decision to include a public option as the focus of the legislation.”