With the Senate Finance Committee poised to vote on a health care reform bill on Tuesday, liberal groups in North Dakota are continuing to demand that Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., support a public health care option.

The North Dakota Democratic-NPL also sent letters to the state's all-Democratic congressional delegation last month calling upon Congress, "to enact universal single payer health care legislation."

Conrad, who has been at the forefront of the national debate over health care reform from his seat on the Senate Finance Committee, has said there isn't enough support in the Senate to pass a public health care option.

But with a committee vote on the bill next week, and its estimated $829 billion price tag over 10 years, most of the drama won't be happening in the Senate Finance Committee, but on the floor when the two bills being considered in the Senate are blended.

Conrad has argued that a public health care option tied to current Medicare reimbursement rates "would be a very serous problem for North Dakota because we have the second lowest reimbursement in the country."

"In this debate, it's a very curious debate, somehow people have gotten in their head the only way to address those problems is through a government run plan," Conrad said.

Don Morrison, director of NDPeople.org, argues that a public option will reduce health care costs and expand coverage to millions who currently don't have it.

"There is an understanding in North Dakota that health care costs are out of control and that it's obvious that a system that's based on private insurance is not working," Morrison said. "A public option is what's needed to make sure there's enough competition so people will have quality affordable health care."

But once the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approve their respective bills, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will have to strike a balance between the liberal and moderate members of his caucus.

That likely means a full-blown public option won't be a part of the final legislation, but certain compromises - such as an opt-out option for states - could be tacked on along with the deficit reducing qualities of the Senate Finance Committee bill, as scored by the Congressional Budget Office.

Conrad also notes other potentially palatable ideas emerging from other lawmakers, such as one that would allow states or regions to independently establish public health care plans.

"At some point there's going to be a compromise," Conrad said. "I've got to be in a position as a negotiator at the table to come up with proposal that benefits the state I represent."

District 31's new senator

The District 31 Democratic-NPL has nominated Terryl Jacobs as its new state senator.

Jacobs, 51, is replacing former Sen. Aaron Krauter, D-Regent, who resigned last month after he was named North Dakota director of the federal Farm Service Agency, which is based in Fargo.

Jacobs is a crop insurance agent who has been involved in District 31 Democratic politics for more than 20 years. She's currently the Hettinger County Democratic-NPL co-chair in District 31.

She will have to make a decision by next spring if she wants to run in the 2010 election to keep her seat.

"I'm just looking at trying to fulfill this term and carry out the duties expected by District 31," Jacobs said.

And on a personal note...

Today's column will be my last for the Bismarck Tribune.

After spending more than a year in Bismarck, I have decided to take a reporting job in my home state at the Nevada Appeal in Carson City, which means I am ending my adventure in North Dakota this weekend.

It's been an eventful year for me as a reporter and as a newcomer to North Dakota.

There have been ups and there have been downs, many of them below zero. Regardless, I will always cherish my experience in this state and the people I was lucky enough to meet.

I am a better person because of it.

Thank you and good luck.

(Contact the Bismarck Tribune by calling city editor Steve Wallick at 250-8247)