Some House members who have previously backed a single-payer healthcare reform bill say they will not vote for a similar measure when it hits the floor this fall.

Of the 12 serving House members who co-sponsored Rep. John Conyers’s (D-Mich.) single-payer bill (H.R. 676) in the last Congress but not in this Congress, four have indicated they will vote no on a single-payer bill to be offered by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).

The four members are Reps. Joe Baca (D-Calif.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), David Scott (D-Ga.), and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).

“It’s a whole new ballgame,” said Baca spokesman Mike Trujillo. “[Baca] supports a public option and not a single-payer system at this time.”

In an interview with The Hill, Scott said, “I support a public option. It’s an excellent compromise and the best vehicle to garner enough votes to pass….Single-payer isn’t going to get the votes. A public option is the best shot we have to lower costs and provide coverage to most Americans.”

Johnson adopted a similar tone in a statement to The Hill: “I have supported legislation like H.R. 676 in the past, but this year I support America’s Affordable Health Choices Act because it has a much better chance of becoming law.”

http://www.thehill.com/homenews/house/56785-dems-backtrack-on-single-payer-bill