After months of touting a public alternative to private health insurance, the White House may be taking a step back on the issue given the reaction from those on Capitol Hill and across the nation.

Kathleen Sebelius

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told host John King that while the Obama Administration supports greater competition in the health insurance marketplace, the public option may not be the final solution.

She noted that the Senate Finance Committee, which is the fifth and final Congressional committee to approve a health reform bill, may be more focused on non-profit health insurance co-ops rather than a government-run health insurance program.

“I think what’s important is choice and competition,” Sebelius said. “And I’m convinced at the end of the day, the plan will have both of those. But that [the public plan] is not the essential element.”

As she appeared on CNN, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), of the Senate Finance Committee, said on Fox News Sunday that the public option does not have enough votes of support in the Senate.

“There never have been [enough votes],” Conrad said. “So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.”

President Barack Obama has been a staunch supporter of a public plan despite the lingering doubt by some in Washington, D.C., that it can not fairly compete with private insurance companies.

In July, the president said he believed “that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest.”

This echoed a statement a few weeks earlier when Obama said a potential government-run insurance program would be “an important tool to discipline insurance companies.”

The president, as well as senators across the country hosting health reform town hall meetings, have witnessed public skepticism of a public plan, with concerns ranging from whether or not the government is taking over health care to how it can run a fair product alongside private insurers.

Sebelius said the president remains committed to the goals of covering all Americans, lowering costs and ensuring that insurance companies don’t drop those most in need of their services.

“Those are really essential parts of the program, along with choice and competition, which I think we’ll have at the end of the day,” she said.