Sen. Harry Reid announced Monday afternoon that the healthcare bill he is introducing to the Senate will include a public option–but as Nation correspondent Ari Melber explains on MSNBC, the fact that its inclusion is accompanied by an “opt-out provision” is grounds for disappointment. As the attempt to shape a bi-partisan reform effort continues, the scope of the reforms seems to actually be shrinking. Melber calls the Senate Majority Leader out on his “cowardly politics” and argues that the “opt-out” provision will only lead to more fighting, since giving the states the ability to take the public option away after four years will surely not go uncontested. Both Melber and conservative Washington Times reporter Amanda Carpenter critique Reid’s legislation, which seems to indicate that this add-on would please neither party in an attempt to please both.

–Fernanda Diaz