Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe was the only Republican on the Senate Finance Committee to vote in favor of the panel's health care reform plan, but she tells the Associated Press that she won't support the reform measure proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Snowe told the AP today that she won't vote to proceed with the majority leader's measure, which currently includes a public option, and she won't offer an amendment to the bill because she says it won't get enough votes to pass.
Snowe has said all along that she prefers a "trigger" that would allow a public health insurance plan only if the private market fails to provide affordable plans on its own. Rather than opting for Snowe's trigger idea, Reid is backing a plan that allows states to opt out of participation in a public option.
The Senate is expected to begin debating Reid's bill within the next few weeks.
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