This afternoon, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AK) announced that she would vote for cloture on the motion to proceed but promised — at least 3 different times — to filibuster reform if it includes a public option. “I’m prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included,” she said. But Lincoln hasn’t always opposed a public plan. In July, Lincoln wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: “Individuals should be able to choose from a range of quality health insurance plans. Options should include private plans as well as a quality, affordable public plan or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals as those of a public plan.”

In fact, that language is still up on her Senate website:

By September 1, Lincoln changed her mind. “I would not support a solely government-funded public option,” Lincoln said at an event in Little Rock. “We can’t afford that.” This afternoon, Lincoln expressed concern that the option could ignore the letter of the law and charge premiums that would not cover the cost of the program. (H/T Jon Walker)

NOTE: We are live-tweeting the Senate vote for cloture on the motion to proceed at @wonkroom.

In a dramatic and long winded speech on the floor of the Senate, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) announced today that she would provide the 60th vote “in support of cloture on the motion to proceed” to the health care reform bill. But Lincoln also stressed that she is “opposed to a new government administered health care plan as a part of health care reform and will not vote on the health care proposal introduced by leader Reid as it is written”:

I’ve already alerted the leader, and I’m promising my colleagues, that I’m prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included. The public option as a part of health insurance reform has attracted far more attention than it deserves. While cost projections show that it may reduce costs somewhat, those projections don’t take into account who pays if it fails to live up to expectations. If in fact premiums don’t cover the cost of the public plan, it is taxpayers in this country who are faced with the burden of bailing it out.

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The Senate bill requires that “the premiums for the public plan be set to fully fund expenditures for medical claims, administrative costs, and a contingency reserve” and instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate reimbursement rates with physicians. The Senate’s public option would save the government $3 billion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office has concluded.

Lincoln, who supported giving Americans the choice of enrolling in a public option as recently as July, is arguing that the option could ignore the letter of the law and charge premiums that would not cover the cost of the program. Her skepticism may be well-founded, but it’s also short-sighted and inconsistent. She is doubting the integrity of the public option, while tacitly assuming that private insurers — who have a long-standing practice of exploiting loopholes in the law and skimming on coverage for beneficiaries to increase profits — will follow the new benefit and rate regulations. Lincoln supports ‘building on the current system’ and regulating private insurers without questioning their commitment to “live up to expectations.”

Ultimately, if she’s is worried that the language of the health care bill won’t be properly implemented, she should encourage the Senate to establish a federal oversight mechanism that could force private health insurance companies and the public plan to abide by the new rules of reform. As it stands now, her objection to the public plan sounds rather manufactured and hypocritical.

NOTE: We are live-tweeting the Senate vote for cloture on the motion to proceed at @wonkroom.

This afternoon, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) took to the Senate floor to announce that she would vote on a motion to proceed with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Landrieu is the 59th Senator to commit to voting to open debate on the floor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Ried (D-NV) would still have to secure the support of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AK) to begin considering the legislation.

In her remarks, Landrieu stressed that she was concerned about the bill’s costs to small businesses and individuals, the possible premiums spikes families could face in the time between when the bill passes and its reforms are implemented, and reiterated her opposition to a public health insurance option:

My vote today to move forward on this important debate should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote as this debate comes to an end. It is a vote to move forward to continue the good, and essential, and important and imperative work that is underway….We must enhance and expand tax credits that are in this bill that are for small businesses, particularly those of 25 and less and if we can expand it between 25 and 50, that would be a great help…I will continue to fight for more tax equity for the 27 million Americans who are currently self employed…in order to really deliver on our promise to lower costs for families focus on ways for premiums to be excessively raised between the time this bill is enacted and the time these provisions go into affect … I remain concerned that the current version of the public option included in this bill could shift significant risk to tax payers over time, unnecessarily…I’ve suggested that a free-standing community option…

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Landrieu also directly responded to “some very partisan Republican bloggers” who suggested that she agreed to support the bill only after Reid included “an extra $100 million in federal aid for low-income people in her state. “The Louisiana money is intended to adjust the percentage of federal payments to the state for Medicaid to avert a scheduled cut in U.S. assistance in 2011 for the program, which provides medical care for the poor. Louisiana had a bump in per capita income from the post-Katrina construction boom, which would force the decline in federal aid.”

Landrieu explained that following the hurricane, “some of those one-time recovery dollars were calculated into our per-capita income” and inflated the state’s income. As a result, the state is scheduled to receive less matching fund for the Medicaid program. “It is the number one request of my Governor, who is a Republican and it is unanimously supported by every member of our delegation, Democrat and Republican. I’ m proud to have asked for it. I’m proud to have fought for it, and I will continue to,” she said.