No Debating Congress' Lavish Health Care

24-Hour On-Site Care, No Coverage Limits; Congress Gets It All - But You Pay for It

(CBS)  As members of Congress debate a "public option" for health care coverage, they remain safe and secure in their own generous health plan.

CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports it's subsidized by millions of your tax dollars annually. The government doesn't even keep track the total cost.

What exactly does Congress get? Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed to show CBS News first hand, flashing his Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of five plans offered to members of Congress. Most Americans, 74 percent are offered only one plan - if their employer offers insurance at all.

And members of Congress earn $174,000 a year - triple the income of the average working-age household. Yet their premiums are about the same.

Special Report: Health Care Reform

For them, there's no coverage limit - a major factor for the American families bankrupted or thrown into poverty by health care costs.

Pre-existing conditions? No problem for congressmen and women. The rest of us are out of luck.

And the elected officials get still more perks most Americans can only dream of. Got a cold? You probably have to take time off work and wait to see a doctor.

Not Congress.

"We're able to access that health care 24 hours a day when we're in Washington," Graham said, leading us to the Attending Physician's Office, a clinic inside the U.S. Capitol. They don’t even have to leave the office.

About half of the members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, use the Attending Physician benefit. For $42 a month, they can get all the primary care they need - physical therapy, X-rays, minor surgery, specialists and a pharmacy for emergencies - no appointment needed.

They also get VIP hospital treatment from the best doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital. And they have a reserved spot at the elite Ward 72 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where the late Sen. Strom Thurmond spent a lot of time.

Outpatient care is free. Well, free for them. Your tax dollars pick up the cost.

Graham says in the current climate, it's just not fair.

"If we pass a law that says a public option will be made available, I think people like myself should get out of this plan and go into the public option," he said.

That's unlikely. Congress has voted down all proposals that would switch them to a public option.

Even if you're mad enough to vote out your representatives, they still won't have to stress over health care. Their plan is portable. Until Medicare kicks in, they can keep the generous coverage for themselves and their families at the same low cost, still subsidized by your tax dollars.

[tlcprop]

healthcare-now.org Don't just complain, do something!!!!

[psuedolus]

Health Care That Isn?t: Congress Gets National Health and We Don't.

But it always amazes me that Americans mistake Health Care for Health Insurance. The two are poles apart. Health Care is the delivery of actual medical care. Health Insurance is nothing more than a lottery; you are not paying for the delivery of a service but instead purchasing the possibility that the insurance company (after taking a substantial profit, of course) might pay for some of your medical bills. One is a service, the other is a profit-taking corporation who certainly doesn?t have the interest of the patient as its bottom line. Seems pretty hard to confuse the two. Yet in his attempt to reform America?s Health Care system, that?s exactly what President Obama has done.
Obama has not only let the insurance corporations set the terms of the debate, he?s invited them to the table. And not unpredictably, the result is a Health Care Reform bill that does not serve the interests of the American people or their health. The bill that has currently escaped the Senate Finance Committee is worse than useless. It takes a discussion of America?s health care needs and turns it into a wrangle over corporate monopoly. It is a sop to the insurance companies and a burden to those it was meant to help. And without the ?public? plan option, the Health Care Reform bill is meaningless, because it simply doesn?t address what?s actually broken in the American Health Care System: for decades, decisions about the health of Americans have been at the mercy of out of control profit-taking corporations.
What?s broken about the American Health Care System is that American does not have a not-for-profit system that delivers medical services to all its citizens, and that is responsible to those citizens, not to a board of investors whose sole motivation is corporate greed. What?s broken about the American Health Care System is that it doesn?t have one. What America has is a number of companies that prey on its citizens in their hour of desperate need, and Obama?s current Health Care Reform Bill doesn?t change that.
In the film, ?The American President?, there is a telling exchange between two of the characters over a crime bill the Chief Executive has just sent to the floor:

President: ?Government is choosing, government is prioritizing; I made no secret of the fact the Crime Bill was my top priority.?

Sydney: ?Well then, congratulations! It?s only taken you three years to put together crime prevention legislation that has no hope of preventing crime!?

President: ?Sid, please, I don?t wanna lose you over this.?

Sydney: ?Mr. President, you got bigger problems than losing me. You just lost my vote.?

Congratulations, President Obama. You have just put together Health Care Reform legislation that has no hope of delivering Health Care to the American people. And, Mr. President, you?ve just lost my vote.

[uanir12b]

whats good for the goose is good for the gander !
If the politicians worked for minimum wage you can bet there would be alot less career politicians ! I say computerize the government and run it by the people via electronic computer votes , not by biased greedy political salesmen !

[HappilyRetiredFed]

Oh boy, here we go again. CBS I am ashamed you have not done your homework! You make it sound like federal employees have a cadillac plan and they do not. First of all and to all the posters, ALL of the FEHBP plans are PRIVATE...NOT Government run. They are only ADMINISTERED by OPM. This is not the same thing as the "public option"...sorry! Yes, we have choices; every "Open Season" and whoever said it was FREE is sadly mistaken. Understand that the federal government is/was our employer and no different than a private entity administering the same thing; group coverage in other words. And tell me why the FEHBP should be opened up to the general public? This is strictly for government employees and retirees only. Now, if you want to get a job and EARN the same benefits, please do so! NARFE has already stated, and waaaaaay back in March that to open up the FEHBP would be catastrophic; the general public would HAVE to be put into a separate risk pool. And last but not least Blue Cross/Blue Shield premiums just went up 15% with the Standard Plan I have. NOW tell me that you all want this? Can you afford it? I am currently paying over $300 a month which includes BC/BS and Medicare. And I happily do so considering I EARNED my BENEFITS! Now, I don't mind that the FEHBP is used as a model. But the article above is just flat at wrong and extremely left wing!

[tlcprop]

Paying $300 a month to Blue Cross is not a benefit. My premiums have doubled in 4 yr. I now pay $412 a month for me. I have to cut down on groceries just to afford it. And I'm healthy and fit. If your sick and tired of rising costs and greedy insurance companies, you need to support Health Reform. If we don't have a public option the Ins. Co will have no incentive to lower premiums. Go to Healthcare-now! and get involved.

[lsteger]

Ms. Attkisson - thank you for your bravery in pointing out this awful insult to the American people after we are expected to have a public option and they refuse to participate. Not only that - WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR WONDERFUL HEALTH PLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Main stream media has not mentioned this before and I praise you for doing so - you are a great reporter and CBS is lucky to have you. Bless you.

[midlclass]

they should offer there same insurance OPTIONS as the public option and or include a clause that if you make kore than 115,000 a year you need to pay your own ins.

[flwrchld]

I have always thought that Americans should have the exact same health care as Congress. What a conflict of interest that they get to decided what I get or don't get. I raise a family of 5 with NO health care insurance and work every day of my life. Health care is not offered by my employer and I earn too little to pay my own and earn too *much* (ha HA!) to qualify for any assistance. Too *much* in my case is $100 a month over the qualifying limit.

Give me a plan that I can afford WITH a public option. Government employees get a public option. Who do you think pays for their plan? Me, the public. I want the same thing.

We are seeing a surgeon on Monday for my 14 year old son. I will have to pay every dime of his surgery. Without a doubt it will take me years to pay off. Meanwhile, my taxes will continue to help fund their public option.

I'm just saying.

[tlcprop]

Sorry to hear about your son's surgery. You should be able to get your children covered under the CHIP Program. You can find them here: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/home/chip.asp
Then go to Healthcare-now.org to support healthcare reform. They make it easy to get involved and contact congress. NOW is the time to get involved! Everyone that is complaining here needs to let Congress hear their voice. They are voting on this now. Please get involved.

[MPHgrad]

Congress has choice (5) and portability which are the basics that the American people are asking for.

[hungry1968-16]

I'd like to see someone without health care, who got very, very sick, drive to Washington and go to congress, and DEMAND to see the congressional doctors, until they finally had to arrest him for disorderly conduct, all while the news cameras are rolling.

He's paying for those doctors, he should be able to see them.

Only a massively publicized event like this, would catapult this into the spotlight, enough to bring about change.

[dragon8me]

hungry1968-16 that's a great idea. I hope someone does.

[IL-Independent]

I actually agree with you Hungry.

[dragon8me]

This is the kind of health care Obama wanted and congress screwed it up, thanks to the wackos. There's no reason all Americans shouldn't have the same. Get it right the first time with a public option or we can find someone else. No more incumbents.

[jalcbs]

What makes you think a public option would solve the present health care problems? If we expect to "save" $400B out of the fraud and waste in Medicare, that certainly gives no confidence of a model to use!

[canislupus16]

I've wondered for months and months and months when or if anyone - be it an elected representative who supports reform, or the media - would report on the incredible health benefits members of Congress receive at taxpayer expense, all the while denying the American people the same level of care. They obviously believe there are two classes of people in America: them, and us. They protect the insurance companies' profit margins while bemoaning the costs of publicly supported health care for all; that is, all except for them selfish selves.

Even Obama, in his obsessive push for reform, can't seem to justify or summons the guts to point out in the least bit of detail, the level of taxpayer-funded health care that Congressional members receive. About the only thing he has ever done is make veiled inferences in a couple of speeches that Americans should have the same level of coverage as Congress, as he did in his recent speech to a joint session. He had considerable opportunity rouse the public into action to lobby and petition their representatives to provide the same care that Congress receives, and to shame Congress for its double standard.

For its part, the media is a sham and shadow of what it once was; or certainly what it should be, and what it should report on. Most reporters and producers (the "independent" ones, if there is such a thing) are far too chummy with the very people they should be reporting on. There is no more investigative reporting. If there is a subject begging for news treatment and investigation, particularly in light of the raging public debate and the issue at hand, it is the Congressional double standard of us versus average Americans. Pathetic.

[forumcomments]

We all know government waste goes beyond the legislature. In fact at least the legislature normally puts in a good days work. More often other agencies waste tax payer dollars and provide no better service than criminal incompetence while always trying to convince themsleves and others how compentent they are. How cashing an undeserved check is completed without any conscience is beyond me.

[carolina-questions]

I knew that they received juicy benefits but did not realize they were FREE. It would seem that with the salaries the Congress makes, they could afford to pay at the very least a portion of their premiums, especially if they are to look us in the eye and ask for our "support". I personally do not think our representatives in the two major parties are representing anyone other than themselves. The bill out of the Finance Committee is already being challenged, as well it should be, and in the end we are going to have "reform" that will create a system no better than what we enjoy now, "enjoy" now, and will cost much more. The CBO (who in the past we thought we could trust) scoring of the conceptual language of the bill was spun to make it look like it will be deficit reducing, however, they used numbers for the money coming in to the system beginning right away and money going out of the system in 2013 after the bill goes into effect. This is all politics. All about getting re-elected. I never thought a 3-party or 4-party system would be any good, but you really have to wonder. Maybe we need a totally new crop and TERM LIMITS! We are all guilty of sending our incumbent back, I have been guilty as well, but I do not plan to vote for another incumber, unless the challenger is a proven criminal or dope.

[fdd23]

what a bunch of pond scum...if this bastards force this "obamacare" on us, they MUST join the same program that they are shoving down our throats--WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER...

[SocietysNightmare]

Govt. officials have a better healthcare plan than the average American. Imagine that. This is not new. Fair? Maybe not. But rank has always had it's priviledges.

[anonymous010]

I think any Congressman/woman who uses this health coverage should be required to forfeit their right to speak about and vote for or against any health plan for the American people. To do otherwise would be nothing short of hypocritical. Although that seems to be par for the course with Congress these days. It's sickening. At any rate, I question the wisdom of the people who allowed Congress so much power (as in the ability to vote their own pay raises, for example). I doubt it was the founding fathers (I hope it wasn't, or my respect for them will drop dramatically) since I doubt the first few Congresses even got paid, but seriously, something needs to be done to return accountability to the American people. How do we do that within the existing framework? I dunno. I wish I did.

The short of it is that elected officials shouldn't get any more benefits than what they can afford by their own means. Allowing them so many fringe benefits without cost merely pushes them even further out of touch with the people they claim they represent. Maybe we should take Stephen Colbert's advice and start sending our medical bills to Max Baucus (or all of Congress). Maybe then they'd wake up.

[kenhamlett]

Just photocopy the Congressional health plan and change the name to Health Care Reform. Then sign me up.

[jalcbs]

Sure, sign everyone up. Who pays for it all? Maybe you have a few trillion dollars laying around......

[amichaelp]

The government will always have the best the United States of Amerika has to offer. Unfortunately, We The People will get the crumbs. This is why We The People are so frustrated and upset with pure politics. The Upper Management will get the bonuses and the Politicians will get the benefits. While We The People get nothing but crumbs. It will never change and Husein or any other politician will not change it.......why would they. If I were in their shoes ($1,500.00) I wouldn't change it either. Unfortunately, I'm not in their shoes (my shoes are made in China $18.00). I'm about to lose my job due to Outsourcing, my blood pressure medicine has just doubled due to Aetna insurance, I have a house that could go into forclosure, and the cockroaches are drinking my beer. It doesn't get any better than this.

Thank you,

American born, American bred, American true blue, dedicated American, etc....

[stryker54]

Here's an easy solution. How about making available to the uninsured and paying the same plan our senators and congressman have, they say the cost is what the average person is spending, only they make about a 3rd of what our elected officials do. So BC/BS for everyone and for 42 bucks you can have the same as Nancy, no appointment needed 24 hrs a day. It's a sweet plan and I'm sure BC/BS wouldn't mind insuring the US people for the same cost and benefits.

[rhs648]

If this type of coverage were offered to most Americans under a government plan, a public option, or a government subsidized plan, it would bankrupt the government. It isn't going to happen. Note the unwillingness of Congressmen to be thrown into lesser plans that will be offered or mandated to the rest of us. When the government decides what coverages all plans must include, it will be interesting to see how it compares with the plans offered to congressmen.