Health Care for U.S. Congress
Politicians Receive the Country’s Best Care - at Taxpayers' Expense
While over 46 million Americans remain uninsured and millions more underinsured, members of Congress receive health-related services that many in the U.S. will never see.
Few would deny that a health care crisis looms large in the U.S. In a country with millions of uninsured and underinsured citizens, health care has become more a privilege than a right. Indeed, the United States remains the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t guarantee health care to all its citizens.
But this isn’t the case for members of the U.S. Congress. Representatives and Senators alike receive some of the best health care benefits in the country, much of it paid for with taxpayer dollars. Yet these same members seem unable - or unwilling - to extend similar protections to the rest of America.
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
As soon as members of Congress are sworn in, they may participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/. The program offers an assortment of health plans from which to choose, including fee-for-service, point-of-service, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). In addition, Congress members can also insure their spouses and their dependents.
Not only does Congress get to choose from a wide range of plans, but there’s no waiting period. Unlike many Americans who must struggle against precondition clauses or are even denied coverage because of those preconditions, Senators and Representatives are covered no matter what - effective immediately.
And here’s the best part. The government pays up to 75 percent of the premium. That government, of course, is funded by taxpayers, the same taxpayers who often cannot afford health care themselves.
Members of Congress are not fined if they choose not to participate. Plus we pick up 100 percent of the costs for their chosen plan. It is all financial slight of hand. Under the guise of the employer contribution of 75% and 25% employee contribution, we pay 100%. We pay their salaries and we pay the taxes that fund the employer contribution.
However, instead of crafting a straight forward bill that possibly -- possibly has a government supported 'public' option and a subsidy on privately purchased health insurance, we get 2,000 pages of ideological horse apples wrapped in hollow political rhetoric and delivered with Machiavellian grins.
This whole bill could have been wrapped up in 10 pages with the following talking points:
1) Public option (possibly)
2) 90% subsidy on private option for those who earn less that $200,000 per year
3) No penalty for pre-existing conditions
4) Do no harm to Medicare or Medicaide, possibly shift it to a 100% subsidy of a private or public option
5) Program available to US Citizens only
Can it be paid for .... you bet! First, make all the Wall Street, bank, corporate, and insurance cash sucking vampires pay back the billions they owe the US taxpayer. They should want to anyway so that they can continue to rape their share holders with executive pay packages and golden parachute clauses. Second, get the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither country wants us there and what is saved in not fighting the two wars could easily pay for health care.
