Found three good articles to keep in mind while you're talking to your "Representatives"-who-think-that-means-in-name-only"...
Health Care for U.S. Congress
Politicians Receive the Country’s Best Care - at Taxpayers' Expense
Oct 11, 2008 R.H. Sheldon
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.
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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).
[KLP Note: Here's the link: opm.gov .]
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.
More Health Care Perks for Congress
And the Congressional perks don’t stop with the FEHBP. According to the article “Health care as good as Congress gets,” by John Barry, a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times, “Members of Congress have their own pharmacy, right in the Capitol. They also have a team of doctors, technicians and nurses standing by in case something busts in a filibuster. They can get a physical exam, an X-ray or an electrocardiogram, without leaving work.”
Although members pay extra for these services - Representatives pay about $300 per month, and Senators about $600 - taxpayers end up kicking in another $2 million. That’s $2 million not being spent on those who need it.
House and Senate’s Health Care Legacy
Despite the services that members of Congress receive at the taxpayer’s expense, they’ve done little on behalf of those who cannot afford or cannot get health care. The Oakland Tribune article “Congress’ wild health care ride” (January 7, 2008) reports that Congress’ attention is instead focused on the financial well being of pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
To illustrate this point, the article states that, according to the Medicare Reform Act of 2004, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for lower prices. However, not only is this negotiating power available to governments in other industrialized countries, it’s also similar to the power granted to the FEHBP, which itself is permitted to negotiate premiums and prices.
It's true that the U.S. Congress is talking up health care reform, but members of the House and Senate - both Republicans and Democrats alike - take millions of dollars in contributions from the health sector, which includes health providers, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies
In the meantime, millions of Americans are receiving inadequate health care, and millions more could lose their health insurance at any time. Those who’ve managed to maintain their insurance have seen their rates go up and their deductibles rise. Many end up medically bankrupt. Yet throughout all this upheaval, one thing has remained steady - the health care coverage afforded members of Congress. If they’ve proven nothing else, they’ve shown taxpayers that they know how to take care of themselves.
Read more at Suite101: Health Care for U.S. Congress: Politicians Receive the Country’s Best Care - at Taxpayers' Expense | Suite101.com 74.125.155.132
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Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members
By Robert Longley, About.com Guide
74.125.155.132
U.S. Congress salaries and benefits have been the source of taxpayer unhappiness and myths over the years. Here are some facts for your consideration.
Rank-and-File Members:
The current salary (2009) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.
• Members are free to turn down pay increase and some choose to do so.
• In a complex system of calculations, administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, congressional pay rates also affect the salaries for federal judges and other senior government executives.
• During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin considered proposing that elected government officials not be paid for their service. Other Founding Fathers, however, decided otherwise.
• From 1789 to 1855, members of Congress received only a per diem (daily payment) of $6.00 while in session, except for a period from December 1815 to March 1817, when they received $1,500 a year. Members began receiving an annual salary in 1855, when they were paid $3,000 per year.
Congress: Leadership Members' Salary (2009)
Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.
Senate Leadership
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400
House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.
Benefits Paid to Members of Congress
You may have read that Members of Congress do not pay into Social Security. Well, that's a myth.
Prior to 1984, neither Members of Congress nor any other federal civil service employee paid Social Security taxes. Of course, the were also not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Members of Congress and other federal employees were instead covered by a separate pension plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress. Because the CSRS was not designed to coordinate with Social Security, Congress directed the development of a new retirement plan for federal workers. The result was the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986.
Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.
Members elected since 1984 are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Those elected prior to 1984 were covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). In 1984 all members were given the option of remaining with CSRS or switching to FERS.
As it is for all other federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes and the participants' contributions. Members of Congress under FERS contribute 1.3 percent of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2 percent of their salary in Social Security taxes.
Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.
The amount of a congressperson's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.
According to the Congressional Research Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of Oct. 1, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972. A total of 123 Members had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with service under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $35,952 in 2006.
Also See:
• Congress Votes Itself a Pay Raise
• Presidential Pay and Benefits
Related Articles
• Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members
• Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members
• Year of the Jackpot - Military Pay & Benefit Improvements for 2002
• Congress Votes Itself a Pay Raise
• What Congress Has in Store for Military Members in 2005
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Just how good a health plan does Congress have?
By Charles Pope, The Oregonian
August 03, 2009, 4:00AM
oregonlive.com
When Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden tells people that his goal for health insurance reform is to make it possible for every American to have the same coverage he does, the frequent assumption is that he has access to an exclusive, gold-plated policy.
What does as good as Congress mean?
•The health insurance options for federal employees in Oregon
•The most popular insurance plan for federal employees
He is, after all, a powerful and senior member of the U.S. Senate.
But in truth, the "as good as Congress" standard promoted by Wyden, President Obama and others in the debate over health care reform is not so exclusive after all.
Wyden and other members of Congress use the same health care program as every other federal employee, whether that employee works as a Forest Service manager in the Deschutes National Forest, as a meteorologist for NOAA in Hawaii, or as a janitor in the Bureau of Engraving in D.C.
The program covers 8.5 million employees and family members. Federal workers pay part of the cost for their health care. And like employees across America, they've seen those costs go up each year.
The federal health plan offers among the best choices in any workplace. Because of its enormous size and market power, insurers participating in the federal plan cannot deny coverage to workers who have pre-existing conditions. The plans are portable, meaning if that Forest Service worker from Oregon gets transferred to Idaho or Florida, or even overseas, the coverage follows.
And because the pool of potential customers is so large and potentially lucrative, insurance companies trip over themselves to be part of the system. It's why federal workers in Washington, D.C. have 23 different plans to choose from and why most federal employees in Oregon have around a dozen.
Wyden, for example, has selected the more generous of two Blue Cross Blue Shield offerings for himself and his family. The plan costs Wyden $4,279 this year with a $20 co-pay for most doctor visits.
Sen. Ron Wyden's health plan
Plan: Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard family plan
Cost: $1,120.47 a month
Wyden's share: $356.59 a month (up $42.12 from 2008)
Annual deductible: $300 per member or $600 per family
Routine physical: $20 for doctor, screening tests fully covered*
Well-baby care for the twins: fully covered*
*with preferred providers
This plan is the most popular among all federal workers in the capital. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. David Wu are on the same plan. It's the plan that most of Wyden's Washington staffers have selected as well.
Still, some federal employees get better coverage elsewhere.
Across the Capitol from Wyden, Rep. Earl Blumenauer decided not to use the federal plan. Instead, he is covered by LifeWise of Oregon under his wife's policy as an employee of Northwest Natural. Blumenauer's spokeswoman Erin Allweiss said the congressman also pays about $500 a year for access to Congress' medical clinic, which handles colds, first aid and other minor matters.
The nine staffers in Blumenauer's Capitol Hill office use a range of health plans, including Kaiser, Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Those choices highlight the advantage of the gigantic federal system, which pools workers to increase bargaining power. A small business the size of Blumenauer's staff would generally offer only one choice of health plan -- if insurance is offered at all.
"Our office is a reflection of the importance of having choices," Allweiss said.
It was the broad array of choices available to federal workers that Wyden said led to his creation of The Healthy Americans Act, his proposal for health care reform. The idea, Wyden said, was to write legislation that would change the system so all Americans could have a similar set of choices and conditions that federal workers enjoy.
"If at the end of this, all Americans had coverage like members of Congress and choices like members of Congress, that would be well received," Wyden said.
Ironically, the most important voice in the health care debate is a person who doesn't have to worry about choosing a health insurance plan. As president, Barack Obama has access to free, ever present, state-of-the-art health care. It's provided by the White House Medical Unit, which is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the health of the president, the vice president and their families.
Operated through the U.S. military, the White House Medical Unit is also responsible for the health of the 1.5 million visitors who stream through the White House each year.
Obama acknowledged his position during a July 22 news conference, when asked if would be comfortable being covered by a government-run health care plan.
"You know, I would be happy to abide by the same benefit package," he said. "I will just be honest with you -- I'm the President of the United States so I've got a doctor following me every minute. Which is why I say this is not about me. I've got the best health care in the world. I'm trying to make sure that everybody has good health care -- and they don't right now." |
