Buried in the final paragraph of the Post’s page A4 story on the state of the health-care debate:

Finance members said the committee was leaning against requiring employers to provide health coverage, although it would impose a fee on individuals who do not purchase insurance. They also said the panel had rejected the government health plan that Obama wants to create and would instead adopt a cooperative model, similar to rural electricity providers.

So the public plan is dead? Remember that 50 members of the House Progressive Caucus had pledged to oppose a bill that had a watered-down public plan, never mind legislation that didn’t include it.