But Americans like their health plans -- because they DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE (or until they actually have to use it).
Lawmakers also get special treatment at Washington, D.C.’s, federal medical facilities and, for a few hundred dollars a month, access to their own pharmacy and doctors, nurses, and medical technicians standing by in an office conveniently located between the House and Senate chambers. In all, taxpayers spent about $15 billion last year to insure 8.5 million federal workers and their dependents.... lawmakers can tailor coverage in a way most Americans cannot. "
I'm not saying they should have coverage; however, give us your coverage or stop f***ing us, one of the two!
"Indeed, a question often surfaces: Why can’t everyone enjoy the same benefits as members of Congress? The answer: The country probably couldn’t afford it.... "
But they can AFFORD WARS and BANK LOOTINGS, 'eh?
"Federal employees also have a significant benefit denied the average American: There is no such thing as a preexisting condition"
And YOU are paying for it, America. Couldn't let you start without an insult.
"Congress seen out of touch on health; Taxpayers fund their care plan" by Mark Z. Barabak and Faye Fiore, Los Angeles Times | August 3, 2009
Many feel Congress is out of touch. How, they wonder, can lawmakers empathize with the underinsured or those lacking insurance when they receive a benefits package - heavily subsidized by taxpayers - that most Americans can only envy?
Heavily subsidized! Pfft! Who is paying their salary again?
Among the advantages: a choice of 10 healthcare plans that provide access to a national network of doctors, as well as several HMOs that serve each member’s home state. By contrast, 85 percent of private companies offering health coverage provide their employees one type of plan. Take it or leave it.
Lawmakers also get special treatment at Washington, D.C.’s, federal medical facilities and, for a few hundred dollars a month, access to their own pharmacy and doctors, nurses, and medical technicians standing by in an office conveniently located between the House and Senate chambers.
In all, taxpayers spent about $15 billion last year to insure 8.5 million federal workers and their dependents, including Postal Service employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
There are generous plans available in private industry. But the federal coverage far surpasses that of 70 million people in the United States who are underinsured and financially at risk in the event of a major health crisis - not to mention the estimated 46 million people in the country who have no medical insurance.
“For the average worker, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan would probably look quite attractive,’’ said Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, a pinch-penny advocacy group.
First of all, NOTE the INSULT!
Yeah, you wouldn't want to PINCH PENNIES when SPECIAL INTEREST are LOOTING YOU BLIND! What DISRESPECT to the READER!!!!
Oh, and MAKE WHAT THEY GET the PUBLIC OPTION, huh?
Indeed, a question often surfaces: Why can’t everyone enjoy the same benefits as members of Congress? The answer: The country probably couldn’t afford it - not without reforms to bring costs way, way down. Given their choices, lawmakers can tailor coverage in a way most Americans cannot....
Federal employees also have a significant benefit denied the average American: There is no such thing as a preexisting condition, which keeps many sick people from obtaining insurance. Once hired, federal workers are eligible for coverage no matter their health, with no waiting period.
Voters sense a disconnect....
Ya think?
A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demurred when asked if she would sign up for a government-run plan. The California Democrat joined President Obama in pushing unsuccessfully for passage of a healthcare bill before lawmakers headed home for their summer recess.
“The point is to give people a choice,’’ said Pelosi’s communications director, Brendan Daly. “If you like what you have now, you can keep it. If you don’t like it, you’ll have other choices that are available to you.’’
It's the ARROGANCE that makes you MAD!!!!
Virtually every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has considered expanded or universal medical coverage. President Eisenhower, a famous cost-cutter, signed into law the legislation giving federal employees their generous benefits. His reasons were partly personal: His mother-in-law’s illness required two years of medical care that took a steep financial and emotional toll on the president. Politically, the hope was to spur more private employers to follow the government’s lead.
Look at the WAR-MONGERING PAPER BASH IKE!!
Oh, yeah, they never forgave that.
Obama, wielding his own prod, opened a recent news conference with a pointed reference to the disparity between lawmakers and those they serve. “I have great health insurance and so does every member of Congress,’’ Obama said, noting he also has a doctor standing by around the clock. “This debate is about the letters I read when I sit in the Oval Office every day and the stories I hear at town hall meetings.’’
See: Obama's SicKo Sequel
--more--"
Let's see if we can find a story ourselves:
"Dodd said his diagnosis is an argument for universal healthcare, thanks to the excellent insurance plan available to all members of Congress"
"Dodd reports he has cancer of the prostate; Outlook good; disease found in early stages" by Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff | August 1, 2009
WASHINGTON - “The great thing about the annual physical is that if you get an early detection of prostate cancer, it’s very, very manageable,’’ Senator Chris Dodd said at a news conference in Hartford yesterday....
Hey, look, I don't wish anyone ill.
But that doesn't excuse lying and looting.
The senator said yesterday that he had spoken at length with Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, who was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer in late 2002 as he prepared to run for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. Former Senate majority leader Bob Dole and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani have also been treated for the disease.
“I told him he’s going to be fine, he’s going to be OK,’’ Kerry said in a phone interview yesterday.
“We talked about how you go through the process of selecting what kind of treatment you want, what your options are, [and] my own experience.’’
Dodd said his diagnosis is an argument for universal healthcare. Thanks to the excellent insurance plan available to all members of Congress, he said, the free annual physical revealed the illness in its beginning stages. “That annual physical can make such a difference,’’ he said.
Related: No Choice But Single Payer
Dodd is also concerned about the tough battle for reelection he faces in 2010. As chairman of the Banking Committee, he has been under intense scrutiny for months for allegedly accepting favorable treatment by a mortgage lender - and for benefiting from a sweetheart deal on an Irish cottage. Dodd says he has done nothing wrong.
A recent Quinnipiac poll suggested that he was running nine points behind his Republican challenger, former representative Rob Simmons. This month should have been an important one for Dodd to spend time with his constituents, raise money, and shore up support....
Guy is sick and THEY turn it into POLITICS!
Ronald Schurin, a political science professor at the University of Connecticut, said the negative headlines about his financial dealings have also taken a toll on his popularity....
Still, Connecticut voters are likely to sympathize with Dodd when they learn of his illness, he added. “I know there will be a reservoir of great good will and support for Senator Dodd, some of which may have been dissipating over the last several months,’’ he said.
Pffft!
--more--"
Of course, the special treatment doesn't stop there.
"Senators knew about VIP deals, lender says; Dodd, Conrad deny assertions" by Larry Margasak, Associated Press | July 29, 2009
WASHINGTON - Two influential Senate committee chairmen were told they were getting special VIP deals when they applied for mortgages, an official who handled their loans told Congress in closed-door testimony. Senators Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad had denied knowing they were getting discounts when they negotiated their loan terms.
Did you get VIP treatment from the bank?
Robert Feinberg, who worked in the VIP section of Countrywide Financial Corp., testified about the loan terms before the Senate Ethics Committee, and provided the same information in an interview with Republican investigators of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Both senators have said that at the time the mortgages were being written they didn’t know they were getting unique deals from Countrywide, a company that lost billions of dollars on bad loans and since has been purchased by
That is such a CHILDISH EXCUSE!
I didn't knooooooowwwwww!!!!
It DIDN'T WORK THEN and it WON'T WORK NOW!
Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, received two Countrywide mortgages in 2003, refinancing his home in Connecticut and another residence in Washington. Bryan DeAngelis, Dodd’s spokesman, said Feinberg has repeatedly made allegations of special treatment that were not true. “As the Dodds have said from the beginning, they did not seek or expect any special rates or terms on their loans and they never received any. They were never offered special or sweetheart deals and if anyone had made such an offer, they would have severed that relationship immediately.’’
And I should believe him because.... ??
Sorry, Chris.
Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat who leads the Senate Budget Committee, received two Countrywide mortgages in 2004, one for a beach house in Delaware and another for an eight-unit apartment building in Bismarck, N.D.
And he is supposed to be some sort of budget hawk?
Yesterday, Conrad defended himself and questioned the truthfulness of Feinberg, who could be prosecuted for making false statements if he misleads Congress.
Well, he is Jewish so I guess the truthfulness should be questioned.
Ah, that's unfair to him, especially when he is being threatened with prosecution by a liar! So how do you determine if a senator is lying?
The senator said that Feinberg previously stated he did not tell Conrad that Countrywide was waiving 1 point, an upfront fee, on the loan for the Delaware beach house. “He has contradicted his own story,’’ Conrad said.
What, he write for a newspaper?
Related: AIG: Insults and Arrogance
Dodd's Financial Friends Fly to Campaign's Rescue
