Crowley added that if a healthcare bill weren’t passed, people would start to view the party as ineffective. In contrast, he said, passage of legislation providing for a public option — which the bills on the table do — would “show that we can get things done — monumental things” and would therefore stengthen Democrats’ performance at the polls in the next election.
    “Failure is not an option here, really,” Crowley said, adding that he believes the House will have a minimum of 218 votes in favor of the legislation.
   Varying bills will be debated and voted on in the House and Senate in the coming days or weeks, and Crowley says a final bill should reach the president’s desk before Nov. 14.
   Under the new legislation, more people would be eligible for Medicaid, many middle-income people could receive subsidies to offset the cost of premiums, insurance companies would no longer be allowed to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and almost everyone would be required to have health insurance. The government would also have its own insurance plan, which people could opt for as an alternative to private insurance.
   In Queens, Crowley said, the plan would have particular significance, since the large number of uninsured immigrants strain local hospitals. If more of those immigrants were insured, he said, the borough’s medical institutions would have an easier time. Crowley added that 164,000 households in Queens and the Bronx could opt into the public option and receive premium subsidies.
   Republicans call the plans unaffordable and say they intrude on individual rights. Democrats say the costs — which would likely be close to $900 billion — wouldn’t increase the national deficit.