Source:
Associated PressManaged-care stocks bucked a lower market Tuesday, trading higher as an analyst said the White House had signaled it would be open to negotiation on a public insurance option in its drive to reform health care.
While President Barack Obama reiterated his support for a government-run plan that would compete with private insurance in a statement Tuesday, Deutsche Bank analyst Scott Fidel said in a note to investors that the White House would be open to a "public plan trigger scenario."
The Obama administration and some prominent Democratic lawmakers have pushed hard for a public insurance option that would offer cheaper insurance than the managed-care companies. Republicans have strongly opposed the idea.
Fidel said this alternative would mean that a public option would only be "triggered" down the road if the private insurers fail to make their own plans competitive enough for consumers.
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