By BJ Austin
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-863581.mp3
Dallas, TX – On the eve of a healthcare reform bill making it out of the Senate Finance Committee, two Texas lawmakers made cases for and against he controversial "public option", or government insurance plan.
Dallas Democratic Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn - in separate teleconferences, disagreed on "public option".
Johnson: With 47 million people uninsured, and the majority of those being in the state of Texas, unless we have some way for those people to purchase insurance, a large portion of the goal is left behind.
Cornyn: One estimate is that as many as 118 million people would lose the coverage they currently have if a government-run option were included.
Senator Cornyn says employers would be forced to dump their workers into the government plan, ending current coverage. Congresswoman Johnson says "public option" would put people over profits.