SPOTLIGHT: Senate bill lets states opt out of public option if they pay for uninsured

A provision of the Senate healthcare reform bill has state leaders scrambling to weigh the fiscal and electoral implications of opting out of the bill's public plan, with the question emerging as a litmus test in some campaigns for governor. In an impressive bit of political ledgermain, the provision allows individual states to reject the public option on principle, but not the responsibility for providing coverage for the uninsured, shifting the tax burden to the state. Article