NYT: ObamaCare may have accidentally stripped Congress of health coverage

The only way this issue will really gain any traction is if all GOP members of Congress say ‘ok, we’re not covered anymore, we need to buy our own insurance just like the law says’. The Dims, being Dims, won’t do the same (hopefully), and we then have a really fun campaign issue. It’ll never happen, of course, but I can dream…joejm65 on April 12, 2010 at 10:43 PM

Lindsay Graham was saying exactly that back during the fall. CBS news did a big interview with him where he said that members of Congress should be forced to use the same health care system that they enact for constituents instead of the gold-plated one they get now.

I know Graham isn’t anybody’s favorite, but he is perfectly positioned to take this bull by the horns. I think some nice calls to his offices would do wonders.Check it out:
http://wap.cbsnews.com/site?sid=cbsnews&pid=sections.detail&catId=TOP&index=1&storyId=5382699&type=null&searchKey=null&viewFull=yes

funky chicken on April 13, 2010 at 9:04 AM

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 dont 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

Graham is on fire over this issue–make calls to encourage him to keep it up. He is the best voice the GOP has on health care right now….there’s no reason to cut off your nose to spite your face.

funky chicken on April 13, 2010 at 9:08 AM