Two US labor unions drop out of Obama reform plan

Two US labor unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union, have  backed out of a coalition of groups supporting President Barack Obama's  health care reforms, which are supported by the Pharmaceutical Research  and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA; Marketletters passim).

Lori Lodes, a spokeswoman for the SEIU said: "we strongly support the  health care proposal Pres Obama laid out in the [election] campaign."  This, she claimed, included a public insurance option and the obligation  that all businesses would be require, by law, to pay for at least part  of the health care insurance of their employees.

However, such a policy would be enormously expensive for smaller firms  and would be firmly opposed by insurers. Even with barely enough votes  to hold up legislation in the Senate, the Republican opposition is  likely to try to block what critics argue would be a publicly-subsidized  competitor to private and non-profit insurance providers.