private insurers

Most polls show a majority of Americans want health care overhaul to include a public option, or government insurance program that competes with private insurers.

So it might seem logical that Senate Democrats would include a public option in their bill. But no decision has been made yet, because it's not clear how many Democrats would back a public option.

To pass health care legislation, Democrats in the Senate have had to make some compromises. Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota says the Senate doesn't have the votes to pass the public option plan favored by President Obama.

Conrad talks to Steve Inskeep about his plan to use nonprofit cooperatives to compete with private insurers.