Dorgan On Public Option on KFYR-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Dorgan On Public Option |

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Amanda Tetlak

10/9/2009

Last week we told you that Senator Kent Conrad voted no on public option proposals in the Senate Finance Committee`s version of health care reform legislation.

Before it hits the floor, it will be merged with other Senate versions which could include a public option.

We already know Conrad`s stance, but what about Senator Dorgan, who is coming up for re-election next year?

The North Dakota Democratic party`s official position on public option is one in support, but that doesn`t mean that`s how Dorgan will vote.

When asked if he supports a public option, Dorgan`s answer was not a simple yes or no as the question suggests.

"If a public option is constructed in a way that provides some more competition, I`m for that," Dorgan says. "I don`t want to create a public option that is unfair that would hurt a lot of people into a public plan, but by the same token a public option that would provide competition for the insurance industry makes sense to me."

The state`s Democratic party sent a letter to our delegation last month reminding them of a platform resolution passed by the party in 2008 calling "upon Congress to enact universal single payer health care legislation." And if that wasn`t possible, to respectfully consider supporting a public option, something Senator Conrad hasn`t done so far.

"At the end of the day I think that the Senators are going to do what they feel is best for North Dakota and sometimes that doesn`t jive with what folks in the party want, but you know how it works," says Joe Aronson, of the Democratic NPL of North Dakota.

Senator Conrad and Congressman Pomeroy say they haven`t supported public option plans in the House and Senate because they`ve been tied to Medicare Reimbursement rates, an issue Senator Dorgan agrees is a concern.

"If you have a public option that reimburses at Medicare rates, that`s going to cause further problems in states that are called the frontier states where we have a lesser reimbursement under Medicare," says Dorgan. "So we have to be careful about this."

But he says at the end of the day, he will support legislation that accomplishes what was intended, to create competition and make health care more affordable to Americans.

Senator Dorgan added another issue of major concern to him is prescription drug prices. He says he plans to bring an amendment to the floor that puts pressure on companies that charge Americans more than other countries for the same drug.

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