August 16, 2009 | 3:20 p.m. - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says a government-run insurance option is not essential to President Obama's healthcare goals.

Reporting from Washington - The Obama administration continued to back away from a government-run insurance option today, with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius saying it is "not the essential element" of healthcare overhaul.

She, and other White House surrogates on the Sunday talk shows, indicated that the public option is not indispensable. But finding a way to keep insurance affordable is.

"I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," Sebelius said. "That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs agreed. "What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market," he said.

And a day earlier, President Obama himself said that "the public option, whether we have it or don't have it, is not the entirety of healthcare reform." ...

http://www.latimes.com

Administration Official: "Sebelius Misspoke."

Aug 16 2009, 9:11 pm by Marc Ambinder - An administration official said tonight that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "misspoke" when she told CNN this morning that a government run health insurance option "is not an essential part" of reform.

This official asked not to be identified in exchange for providing clarity about the intentions of the President. The official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president's view, the most important element of the reform package...

"Nothing has changed.," she said. "The President has always said that what is essential that health insurance reform lower costs, ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans and increase choice and competition in the health insurance market. He believes that the public option is the best way to achieve these goals."

A third White House official, via e-mail, said that Sebelius didn't misspeak. "The media misplayed it," the third official said...

http://politics.theatlantic.com