Yarmuth Says 51 Votes May Pass Healthcare Reform In Senate

Congressman John Yarmuth says Democrats may not need a filibuster-proof 60 vote majority to pass health care overhaul legislation through the Senate.Yarmuth says the party can invoke reconciliation for the bill, which blocks a filibuster and allows budget-related items to pass with a simple majority."The chances are probably 50-50 right now that in order to get a bill through the Senate reconciliation will have to be done, because we don't have every one of the Democratic votes," he says.Yarmuth says he will not vote for any bill in the House that doesn't include a public healthcare option. The congressman has long said he supports a public option for healthcare, to compete with plans offered by private insurers."We have to put some pressure on them because health care decisions can't be made based on profit incentive. And that's unfortunately where we are," he says. "So I think we have to have a public option."He'll hold a town hall meeting on healthcare reform next week.He made his comments on WFPL's State of Affairs program Tuesday