In an interesting statement ahead of a public option vote earlier today, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) said he opposes a Medicare-like public option on the grounds that North Dakota providers get low Medicare reimbursement rates.
That’s a parochial concern and one that would be easy to fix in theory. In practice he voted against the Rockefeller amendment. But here comes the Schumer amendment, which would not be tied to Medicare at all. That completely undercuts his objection. So let’s see how he votes.
