Rep Kathy Castor says she will not support the Senate version of the health care reform bill listen

Tags: kathy castor, health care reform, Bill Nelson, public option

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D).

photo by Seán Kinane/WMNF (Aug. 2009)

As the U.S. House and Senate are trying to agree on a final health care reform bill, Tampa-area member of Congress Kathy Castor says she will not support the Senate version of the bill. That version does not include a public insurance option.

Florida Senator Bill Nelson thinks the final bill will closely resemble the Senate version because it passed with exactly the 60 votes required to avoid a threatened Republican filibuster.

But Castor said today she hopes some of the protections included in the House version will make their way into the final bill.

“If a public option has to go, it’s going to be difficult to support it. … I could not vote for the Senate bill," Castor said.