Make Lawmakers Pay for Health care & End Exempting Themselves

I want legislation introduced at the federal and state levels
mandating lawmakers terminate their full coverage government
health care plans and be forced into buying private HMO insurance,
letting them enjoy the benefits of the free market they all preach
about & claimn to love so much, and whose PAC money they gobble
up, passing health-related bills maximizing HMO profits over
public health.

If such an idea caught traction, you'd see universal, single-payer
health care for all rushed through the congress.

Let's see the look on John McCain's face when Blue Cross offers him
a $50-thousand deductible or threatens denying coverage because of
his pre-existing cancer-condition.

Let's see how many senators are denied coverage after forced into
pre-insurance medical exams, exposing ills they've hidden from
voters.

Obama and the Democrats are bought-off cowards---plain & simple.
They forever lamented needing 60-votes and now have them, and a super
House majority, too, and the Dems are killing universal health care,
as the GOP is not a factor & in constant decline as a party, turning
off more voters every day.

I want my motion passed: force lawmakers into HMO's,
ending their government health care access.

how do you expect that to happen?

Their coverage is similar to what many private employers offer. They pick one of the private insurance plans offered through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. They pay premiums out of their paychecks. They pay whatever deductible their chosen plan requires. As a retired Fed I have insurance coverage offered through this same plan. I have BC/BS, I have some high medical bills, and I pay a hefty deductible and then I pay the difference between what the plan covers and what it doesn't cover. Any member of congress who chooses the same plan I have would pay the same. It's not full coverage care. My BS/BC plan includes the bare minimum of dental and vision coverage, i.e. only a portion of a basic exam, if I need a crown for a tooth or expensive new glasses, I pay for them out of my own pocket. So would a congressperson with my plan. They make a lot more money than I do so the impact on their finances would not be as drastic, and the government requires existing conditions to be covered, but congressmen do pay for their coverage.

Zeke,

Doesn't the fact that they exempted themselves tell you something about this health care bill?

May I make another observation? Your quite right that ol' Johnny would be up a creek w/ BC, but don't we realize that under a national single payer plan the only way to limit costs will be to limit the care dispensed? There is a reason for the provision for counseling the old folks about "end of life" and a reason O made mention about using pain management instead of medical procedure for an old lady.

I'm guessing that I'm probably a bit older than you (pushin' 50), but after seeing the solution being offered my support for O has gone down considerably.
We may have all the votes in Congress (if everybody falls in line),but that doesn't mean this is either right or good. Somebody once said that "if everybody is thinking alike - nobody is thinking."

What is turning off the voters (I guess that includes me) is that we (or I) am finding out what is in this piece of ^*)*&^#. And that those little Napoleons' in DC think they can ram-rod this thing through like these other things that don't even get read.
If some government shrink thinks he/she is going to talk to me about "just hanging it up" then this is not an America worth living in.
We need changes to the cost of healthcare and health insurance, "but this ain't it,"

This is not the change I wanted.

Simeon

not necessarily hmo, but some surely do.

All of their constituents, especially blue dogs, must be informed, LOUDLY, that their c'people are planning to refuse to provide us all with the type of health coverage CONGRESS, Senate, Judges, etc, have.

Read all about it: http://www.opm.gov/INSURE/HEALTH/