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 There seems to be some confusion as to whether Senator Kent Conrad's position on "the public option" is in flux. Some --like Ryan Grim at the HuffingtonPost -- are suggesting Senator Conrad is changing his position on the public option and is "moving closer" to Public Health Care after yesterday's negotiations. Others say Grim is full of whooey and doesn't know what he's talking about. It's an interesting discussion .
Last week I sent four questions to Senator Conrad specifically relating to the public option. Here are my questions and Senator Conrad's answers, received this afternoon: Q) Do you support a public healthcare option as part of healthcare reform? The skyrocketing cost of health care in the U.S. has put our economy on a course that threatens both our national and economic security. With 46 million Americans without health insurance and another 25 million underinsured, maintaining the status quo is no longer an option. We need a plan that will result in better health care outcomes for North Dakotans while beginning to bend the cost curve – that is, beginning to rein in the runaway cost to treat America’s patients. Depending on how it is structured, a public plan option might be able to do that. But if it is done the wrong way, it could cause serious problems in our state, because existing Medicare formulas significantly under reimburse our providers. If tying public plan payments to these outdated Medicare formulas causes hospitals in our state to go bankrupt that would leave North Dakotans without access to health care at any price. So we need to look at other ways of getting to the same goal, keeping in mind that we need a bill that can pass the Senate or we will not get health reform. That is why I have proposed my co-op option, which would create not-for-profit insurance plans owned and directed by consumers -- by the public -- with a mission of getting the best value for consumers, not maximizing profits for shareholders. Q) If so, do you support a public healthcare option that is available on day one? I think the sooner we can put a new plan in place, the better. I'm not convinced that so-called "trigger proposals" would make much sense. Q) Do you support a public healthcare option that can bargain for rates from providers and big drug companies? The ability to effectively negotiate with health care providers and drug companies is critical to making health care affordable for American families. To address a number of flaws in our current system, I have laid out a proposal for Consumer-Owned and -Oriented Plans (or co-ops) that we are so familiar with in North Dakota and across the upper Midwest. My co-op plan would create non-profit cooperatives that would provide affordable health insurance by creating a pool of consumers who could then negotiate with providers for health care. These national, state or region-wide co-ops would be self-governed by their members, and would operate under the same rules regarding solvency and consumer protections that apply to other insurers. These co-ops would serve the best interests of the public -- their members -- and address the three principles of health care reform: choice, quality and cost. Because new co-ops would need seed money to help them meet capital reserve requirements until they have premium revenues coming in, the federal government could offer startup funds through grants or loans, matched by states, local governments, or the co-op members themselves. But that would be the extent of government involvement. Q) Do you support a public healthcare option that is national, available everywhere, and accountable to Congress? Yes. Whatever option is chosen should be national in scope so that it is available everywhere. And it should be accountable to the American people.
In my line of work, if I ask someone a question and they give me an answer I feel is "non-responsive," I usually get a chance to ask again until I get an answer to the question I'm asking. Politics and government are a little different, so I find myself getting a little frustrated at times like this. I don't think Senator Conrad means to be non-responsive, or that he means to avoid the question, but his answer to my first question doesn't really/clearly answer the question I asked. I think his answer is "no." Senator Conrad seems to be against the 'public option" 72% of Americans appear to be supporting. I have sent an inquiry to his office to find out if they think it's fair for me to characterize his answer is a "no," and I'll update the post if/when I get a response. [Update: Haven't heard back from his office yet.] I'm not against co-ops, generally. I listed "Farmers Union" (a co-op) as my religious preference on my class registration forms in college for several years. I usually support the idea of co-ops. And I haven't seen all the details of Senator Conrad's plan/proposal, so it is too early to judge. I just think America is ready for a public health care option. I'm not sure why any Democrats in Washington would be against the public option. I'm pretty happy with Senator Conrad's answers to questions 2, 3 and 4. I'll have to look into what he's talking about regarding "trigger proposals." I think I have a general idea what the phrase means, but I'm not all schooled up on it. I'll have to do that. Most Americans seem to agree that it's not enough to just make our current, broken health care system available to some or all of America's uninsured. Senator Conrad clearly recognizes there's a need to have a system in which meaningful negotiations take place with drug companies and health providers. We don't have that now and some charges are clearly out of control. I can't remember who I heard saying this, but it's interesting to hear Republicans in Congress complaining about Americans having a public option. "It costs too much." "It'll put the government between people and their care providers." That's not just crap; it's hypocritical crap. They need to be asked this question: "Do you complain about the government getting in the way of your medical care when you use the public health plan we provide to you to get your medical care?!? When you send your kids to get medical care, do you complain about the public health plan we provide for them?!?" I bet they don't complain. I don't see why all Americans shouldn't have the option to use the same health plan we provide to members of congress. I haven't gotten Senator Dorgan's responses to the same questions yet. I'll post them if/when I get them. [See Senator Dorgan's answers by clicking here.]
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