House health reform will have public option: Pelosi

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gestures during a news conference on the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act on Capitol Hill, July 22, 2009.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The health reform bill making its way through the House of Representatives will include a public insurance option, but negotiations are continuing on the details of the plan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday.

"At the end of the day we will have a public option" in the House bill, Pelosi told a news conference.

She noted it was possible the Senate might include a public insurance option in its final health reform bill. As a result, negotiations over the House bill were not just about the public option but are looking at the shape of a final bill that could be approved by both chambers, Pelosi said.

Both the Senate and the House have approved multiple health reform bills that must now be molded into a final bill that can be approved by each chamber. The two bills will then have to be reconciled for final adoption.

President Barack Obama has been pushing for a public insurance option to provide competition for private insurers and hold down prices in his effort to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and extend coverage to 46 million people who are uninsured.

The public insurance option would be available in a government-sponsored marketplace for small businesses and people who do not get insurance through their employers.

Most Americans have health insurance through their employers.

Polls show a majority of American support a public insurance option, but insurance firms are opposed, fearing a non-profit public insurer would have a competitive advantage that could drive them out of business.

(Reporting by Donna Smith; Writing by David Alexander)