The Direction of the Conversation

On October 22, Senator Kent Conrad told a reporter that the “direction of the conversation” in Washington is pointing towards a public option in the Senate’s version of the health care reform bill.

Four days later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said an opt-out version of the public option would be included in the bill voted on by the full Senate. The opt-out means states can vote, through their legislatures, to remove themselves from the nationwide plan.

The real question is not whether the public option will pass the Senate (there are at least fifty votes for a public option), but whether enough Democratic senators will vote for cloture when Republicans inevitably filibuster the bill.

Yes, inevitably. Anyone who has followed the debate knows the Republicans are more interested in scoring political points at the expense of good policy than in actually accomplishing anything of value. They’re wasting their opposition status by whining about lies, like death panels and Communism, instead of promoting any of their own ideas. After the town hall shenanigans masquerading as political debates over the past summer, we were happy to see even bad ideas offered, like the co-op compromise offered by Senator Conrad.

The public option consistently receives support from the general American public. A recent Washington Post/ABC poll suggested nearly 60 percent of Americans support a public option.

A Research 2000 poll from the beginning of October also showed broad support for a public option at nearly 60 percent in favor. But the Research 2000 poll also had an interesting caveat.

Respondents to the poll from the Northwest, Midwest, and West all supported the public option at higher levels (72, 62, and 61 percent, respectively) than the South, which supported the public option at only 46 percent. This mirrors public opinion polls of President Barack Obama, who consistently ranks very highly everywhere but the South.

Should people in the southern states determine how North Dakota’s congressional delegation votes?

Absolutely not.

Regardless of whether Conrad supports the public option, at least he’s interested in reform and willing to offer ideas. Credit where credit is due: he’s been very straightforward about requiring any plan to come within certain budgetary restraints. Our budget hawk hasn’t changed colors, and it’s good to see Conrad promoting fiscal responsibility.

That said, will he vote for cloture on the GOP filibuster sure to face any health care reform bill, regardless of whether it contains a public option? A call to one of his spokesman revealed little. Sean Neary, one of Conrad’s press staffers, said they couldn’t speculate on how the senator will vote on a “hypothetical” filibuster.

The Opt-Out

The opt-out idea allows conservative states to get out, while the states most supportive of a public option (and also the states with the largest populations – California, New York, etc.) can enjoy the fruits of health care reform.

Opting-out also provides additional cover to conservative Democrats, who can vote with their party without incurring the wrath of conservative constituents. And yes, that previous sentence was directed towards our own delegation.

Of course, whether any state would opt-out is debatable. On one hand, the public option is socialist and will kill grandma or ration care or some other nonsense. On the other hand, sensible health care reform that works would be incredibly popular and lower costs for everyone, regardless of whether they had the public option or kept their current insurance policy.

When the insurance companies promised to raise rates should a public option pass, they may have sealed their own fate.

Reverse psychology aside, this bold and frankly idiotic move on the part of Big Insurance probably rankled more than a few politicians. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may very well be leaning towards a public option because of the threat.

Don’t believe the insurance companies have a lot to lose if we require them to play fair? Why did their stocks go up when the public option’s demise seemed imminent over the past month?

Despite some free market worshippers who claim otherwise, fair play and honesty are American values we hold dear in North Dakota. We hold those values in much higher regard than a ruthless drive for profit above all else. When insurance companies consider victims of rape to have a pre-existing condition, something is inherently broken in our unusual patchwork of insurance coverage in America.

A public option would level the playing field and enable us all to make better choices. With the winds slowly shifting in its favor, the public option may still end up in the Senate bill. It’s up to Senator Conrad to determine which side of history he’ll be on.

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