The scuttle around Capitol Hill today is that public option devotees in the Senate are considering giving up the fight – in exchange for some rather hefty parting gifts. But before we get too far, let’s clear one thing up – again. The public option “alternative” – which would replace the opt-out public plan currently in the Senate bill – being negotiated by a group of 10 Democrats working behind closed doors is not a government-run health insurance plan. The group is floating an idea that would basically allow the federal Office of Personnel and Management to negotiate with private non-profit insurance plans on behalf of small groups and individuals. This would not constitute a true public option and would not accomplish what a public option was designed to do: leverage a large-scale national public insurance plan to drive down health care costs and force private insurers to keep rates low. Politico’s Ben Smith has the best evidence I’ve seen that this new proposal lacks teeth. Here’s what an “insurance industry insider” told him about the new plan: