With all of the news about Olympia Snowe and passage of the Baucus health care bill, something happened today that has gone under the radar.
In his closing statement during the Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Kent Conrad discussed why a public option tied to Medicare rates would be "a non-starter."
Everyone knows that Sen. Conrad opposes a public option. And he has made clear that his state, North Dakota, would be disproportionately burdened by a public option tied to Medicare rates due to the state's low level of reimbursement.
What was striking about his statement was his long explanation of how he has regularly pushed to increase the Medicare reimbursement rate of his state and other less populous states. Specifically, he mentioned that the only time he was able to get the reimbursement rate increased was while negotiating a very large bill in which his vote was valued.
I think Senator Conrad just showed his cards, signaling to all Senators who would listen, that he will consider voting for a public option if he can secure a "robust" increase in his state's Medicare reimbursement rate.
As one of the most outspoken Democratic opponents of the public option, bringing Sen. Conrad into the public option camp could help secure the votes of other conservative Democrats.
I am not saying that Sen. Conrad would ever support a public option tied to Medicare rates. But, I believe his vote on a public option can and should be negotiated by increasing North Dakota's Medicare reimbursement rate.
I will post a transcript as soon as I can find one.
UPDATE 1:
Per ridemybike, Howard Dean was on The Rachel Maddow Show talking about what the Dems could do to placate Sen. Conrad. If anyone has the video I would be happy to post it.
Many legislators have talked about the problem of low Medicare reimbursement rates in small states. It wasn't until Sen. Conrad's closing statement that anyone had so clearly lobbied their colleagues for this prize. And it would be quite a get for North Dakota and potentially other small states.
My friends on The Hill say that this sounds like Sen. Conrad's m/o.