As the final House vote on a health care reform bill will likely be delayed until the fall, the Senate is pondering its own legislation that may omit key Democratic goals, including a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers.

Olympia Snowe

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), one of five lawmakers debating key components of the legislation in the Senate Finance Committee, said a bipartisan bill would likely not include a government-run program, according to Bloomberg.

Snowe said it is “safe to say” the final document from the committee will instead include the establishment of non-profit cooperatives, rather than providing competition to the nation’s private insurance companies.

Earlier this month, the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), approved the Affordable Health Choices Act, which includes “a clear alternative” to private insurance companies, according to a statement by the committee.

The Senate Finance Committee has been working for months on a compromise bill of its own, with funding and the impact of an employer mandate on small businesses becoming key points of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans.

Snowe said that the employer mandate, calling for coverage for all employees or payment of a fine for lack of coverage, would likely also be excluded in the committee’s final document.

As the last Senate committee works to finalize health reform, the final House committee is also winding down its work, meaning a full vote by the House will not happen before July 31, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Despite President Barack Obama calling for all legislation to be complete prior to a Congressional recess Sept. 8, Hoyer told reporters representatives won’t meet that timeline, as negotiations continue in the Energy and Commerce Committee, Bloomberg reported.

Hoyer did not rule out legislators delaying the recess or postponing a vote until September after the recess, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), said last week his chamber would not vote on health care until after their August break.