- The Washington Times - Friday, July 28, 2017

Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday that he’d like to see a public option proposed in the next round of the health care debate.

“We ought to have a public option. Why not give people more options?” Mr. Kaine, Virginia Democrat, said on MSNBC. “If they want to choose private insurance over a public option, that doesn’t bother me.”

Mr. Kaine said the health care debate needs to continue after Republicans have expressed interest in moving on to their tax reform plan. Although he supports keeping Obamacare in place, Mr. Kaine did acknowledge the law needs improvements.

“We’ve got to deal with premium issues especially,” he said. “There are legitimate issues we need to fix.”

He did say bipartisan efforts will be needed to address these concerns.

“The only way my amendment will be taken up and embraced is [Republicans] saying, ’you know Kaine’s got a good idea,’” Mr. Kaine said.

• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.

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