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http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/287628-centrist-dems-wary-of-public-option-push

Centrist Dems wary of public option push

But among more centrist members of the Senate, where the “public option” was stopped in 2009, there is little enthusiasm for the idea. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D), who represents conservative-leaning North Dakota, pushed back the hardest. “I think it's critically important that we stop trying to complicate healthcare and we start taking a look at what needs to be fixed in ObamaCare,” Heitkamp said. “Until we actually have those conversations and we have bipartisan support, I think it's unrealistic to assume that we're going to see any kind of expansion of care.”

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Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), another Democrat from a red-leaning state, referred questions to his press office when asked if he supported a public option. His press office did not respond to inquiries.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who survived a reelection scare in 2014, was noncommittal on the question of a public option, pivoting to a different change he’d like to see in ObamaCare. He called for addressing the requirement in ObamaCare for providing coverage to people who work more than 30 hours per week. Critics of the law say that requirement has created an incentive for employers be push people into part-time positions. “As we talk about other options we also have to address things like [the] 29 to 30 hour cliff,” Warner said. That “cliff” is an issue usually raised by Republicans.

While the public option has been embraced in the liberal-leaning quarters of the party, more centrist Democrats simply said they were unsure and had to study the details. “I'd have to see it first to see; it's a big term,” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said when asked about Obama’s public option proposal.