Washington DC, Oct 27 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Senator Joe Lieberman told reporters on Tuesday that he will support Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a procedural motion in order to start the health care debate but at the same time he is not in favor of any kind of public option, including state opt-out and trigger provisions, and will ultimately not vote to approve any health care bill that includes any version of a public option.

“I am strongly inclined, and I have had this conversation with Sen. Reid several times, to vote for the motion to proceed to take up the bill. Why? Because I want to vote for health care reform legislation, so I’d like the debate to begin,” said the Connecticut senator. “But I’ve also made clear to Sen. Reid that if the bill remains as it is now, I will vote against cloture, to finish the bill and pass it affirmatively.”

“To me, the opt out doesn’t change the basic facts. The last thing we want to do now is create another Washington-run health insurance company,” he said. “There’s enough good things that we’re talking about - health care delivery reforms, insurance market reforms, extending coverage to people who don’t have it now. I think we’re just asking for trouble that the taxpayers don’t need. I think the end result of it - I mean we are having enough time sustaining Medicare.”

Several Democrats, which includes Senator. Evan Bayh and Senator Ben Nelson, have not yet decided whether they would vote to begin debate on health care reform next week or the week after it.

“I don’t think there is much difference between process and policy at this particular juncture, so I’m going to be looking at those two things as one and the same,” said Bayh, who added that he might vote to block debate. “I want to see what the bill has to say and if I think they have major substantive flaws in it, they may have to be corrected before we go to the floor for debate.”