Richard Kirsch, the national campaign director for Health Care for America Now, read Obama's letter to Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), and liked what he saw.

We are thrilled to see President Obama's strong, unambiguous commitment to reform that includes the choice of keeping private health insurance or joining a new public health insurance option. The choice of a new public health insurance plan is the only way to control costs, guarantee coverage, ensure quality and transparency, and set a benchmark by which patients will know whether their private health insurance is truly giving them what they're paying for.

Taking issue with the Senate Finance Committee suggestion that a public insurance option can be instituted down the line by placing a trigger mechanism in the bill, HCAN says, "some Members of Congress have discussed the possibility of creating a public health insurance plan "trigger," suggesting the public health insurance option can wait. It cannot."

Obama didn't address that particular question in his letter, but he did reiterate his commitment to the public option. "I strongly believe that Americans should
have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest."

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)--often a key holdout on progressive aspects of Obama's agenda--has wavered on the question of a public insurance option. He originally called it a deal breaker, and sought to recruit centrist members of Congress to oppose the plan alongside him, but now says, without getting specific, that he's keeping an open mind.