According to today's TPM reporting, it appears as though Senator Reid wants to 'hurt' the Insurance industry by stopping the Anti-Trust exemption they currently survive on for years:

Reid is adamant that the insurance industry should lose a decades-old anti-trust exemption that allows companies to divvy up markets and agree not to compete against one another.

According to the report Reid said that he:

Along with Senate health care leaders, and White House officials will discuss the public option in yet another closed door meeting tonight.

Could the threat of losing the ability to divvy up markets be enough to convince the insurance industry to back some sort of a Public Option?

Could it actually work?  You tell me.