Who Does Sen. Hagan Represent?

The Wall Street Journal reports that our new Democratic Senator from North Carolina, Kay Hagan, owns at least $180,000 worth of investments in 20 different health-care companies.

So it was not a complete shock to learn yesterday that Hagan is a key hold-out on a "public option" plan in the health-care reform bill currently being crafted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. In the closed committee, Hagan is refusing the public option, which the insurance companies are dead set against because they don't want the competition. But when we called her office, her legislative aide said she hasn't taken a position on the legislation and was leaning toward the "co-op plan" being pushed by Sen. Kent Conrad. Pardon our French, but the co-op plan is a mirage, something meant to placate those of us who want the choice of a public option while protecting the projected profits of the big insurance companies. And this is what Kay Hagan says she favors?

If Hagan is going to be the clod in the health-reform churn, she'll have to answer to the N.C. voters who put her in that office. So far, we're not impressed by her instincts, which seem awfully solicitous of insurance CEOs.