Conrad: Only the co-op proposal can get 60 votes in Senate

Healthcare reform legislation containing a cooperative insurance plan for consumers is the only proposal likely to muster 60 votes in the Senate, Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Wednesday.

Conrad, also a member of the Senate Finance Committee that’s been working furiously to craft a bipartisan health bill, said there’s a “good chance” the committee’s final bill will include cooperatives in lieu of a public (or “government-run”) option.

“In the Senate, a cooperative plan is the only one with the prospects of getting 60 votes,” Conrad said during an interview on CNBC this morning.

Negotiations have continued in the Finance committee in recent days, with indications emerging that the committee would abandon the public option.

“There’s been no final resolution, but I think there’s a good chance the cooperative plan will be adopted, at least at the committee level,” Conrad said. “The notion of a cooperative plan is that it’s membership-controlled, membership-run — not government-run, government-controlled.”

Watch a video of the interview below: