Chuck Grassley: If You Want Good Health Insurance, Work For The Government (VIDEO)

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has a brilliant plan for fixing the health care system: If you want quality coverage, "go work for the Federal government."

At least, that was the answer that Grassley offered up at a town hall meeting in Waukon, Iowa on Tuesday after a constituent asked the senator why he is unable to find good, affordable health insurance like the kind senators get.

Despite the fact that Grassley himself enjoys the benefits of the federal government's excellent public insurance policy, the senator has been avocal opponent of including a public option in any health care plan.

Grassley's stance, incidentally, flies in the face of the opinions of his own Iowa constituents, a majority of whom say they would like to see a public health insurance option.

After sharing his family's personal struggle with the burden of high health care costs, an audience member asked, "My question is... why is your insurance so much cheaper than my insurance and so better than my insurance?"

The question made Grassley cranky.

He responded, first, by suggesting the questioner "go work for John Deere," since they "don't pay anything" for their insurance plan.

When the questioner refused to let the senator wriggle out of answering the question, Grassley revealed how little he knew about his own insurance plan.

Another audience member had to help the senator out by describing the details of the plan. After she finished, the original questioner again asked, "Okay, so how come I can't have the same thing you have?"

Grassley's response: "You can. Just go work for the Federal government."

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Comments

[JoeBlough]

But, the government is the "hire of last resort". They hire the people no one else wants. Who wants to work in an office full of dolts?

[fusillijerry]

Are they sexy dolts?

[indi1216]

He did not just said that...republicans asking us to work for the govt???

[Aine]

Yeah, that's what he said... Republicans for SMALL government. Heh.

[fusillijerry]

Despicably out of touch. Doesn't he pretend he's carefully watching all the numbers for the reform alternatives.

I hope that the next time he is being interviewed on some cable news show the interviewer asks him about this answer.

Don't the repubs want less government employment?

[loki]

Well Chucky, Technically we do all work for the Government. At least all Tax Paying citizens do. So if we use your standards, we should all get the Gov health care right now. What is it, we work about 3 months each year to pay the taxes to the gov. So yes, we are working for the Gov. Where is our Gov health care???

[LeftRight]

We don't work for the government, the government works for US, on paper at least....

[Hermano28]

As a fellow Iowan, living in Cedar Rapids. It saddens me that this Old fool is representing my State. He use to be good, and lately, hes just embarrassed the state of Iowa, and me, with his statements on a few policies, and topics. The only good side to look at, is that hes not as bad as Michelle Bachman of MN.

[Firbolg]

The smirk will be wiped from Grassley’s face when our creditors decide it is time to call in their markers and he and his colleagues realize, too late, that they are just another bunch of toxic assets in the eyes of their corporate masters. By then even the US taxpayer will be too broke to bail them out even if they wanted to.
Corporations are no longer interested in individual countries or the people in them. It is just somewhere to park a branch of their business while they scour the globe for politicians and governments that are for sale, unregulated markets, cheap labor, eager gullible consumers and tax havens to stash their loot.
Having more or less extinguished the US’s buying power there is not much left of interest here except to pay congress members to keep money-making schemes like for-profit healthcare going until every stray dollar is gathered up and handed over. After that, hasta la vista! After all, what have 200 million or so beaten, bitter and broke consumers, whining to be looked after and clinging to religion and their empty wallets got to offer compared with 2 to 3 billion plus innocent and eager nascent super-consumers in Asia and beyond.

[nivek]

Tell me about it Chuck. When my spouse needed extensive spinal surgery, weeks of hospital care, months of physical rehabilitation, years of pain management and a lifetime of limitations, our State of IOWA provided health insurance came through. A year ago she lost her job leaving us the option of covering her alone through COBRA, premium $1,200 a month, more than 3/4 of her salary. Now we are among the estimated 47 million Americans without health insurance and facing grim prospects of obtaining it. My spouse and I were lucky, we were not bankrupted by this health crisis, I am not optimistic we would escape financial ruin if faced with another such calamity. Give your constituents the health care options you enjoy.

[hopeforchangenow]

I say if we want movement to single payer health coverage we take the steps that are necessary to take away the benefits of ALL federal employees, elected or otherwise and retired. Let them look for health, dental and eye appointments without insurance. Once their futures are threatened maybe we will get some action to what is necessary for all Americans. To pay for the cost of the single payer health coverage I give you the following:

This statement appeared in a “News of the Weird” article in the Lansing State Journal in the past month.
"University of Kansas researchers, reporting in April, disclosed that a single tax provision in a 2004 law (allowing U.S. multinational corporations to avoid federal tax on foreign profits) gained a typical company $220 for every $1 the company spent lobbying Congress to enact that provision. Among the big winners was Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company, which disclosed spending $8.5 million to lobby for the law and gaining a tax break of more than $2 billion. (The lobbying emphasized that the lower tax would enable the companies to create more jobs, but the Congressional Research Service found that most of the tax savings went to pay dividends or buy back company stock.)"

[LeftRight]

So you are under the impression that all federal employees are the ones that make policy??? I think that you are sadly mistaken. There are exactly 537 people involved in that, 435 members of Congress, 100 Senators, the President and the Vice President. If you want to convince the policy makers take away THEIR health insurance, NOT that of the people working for less money than the average private worker who is having trouble making the payments on his insurance IN SPITE of it being well subsidized by the government!!

[escribacat]

Grassley's got a nice health insurance package for the rest of his life so what's the problem?

[markytex]

no! don't work for the government. stop expanding the government. get your own health insurance. better yet...die...it's cheaper.

[olmossy]

Way to go Marky ! Spoken like a true Christian.

[kjstjohn]

The right-wing GOP philosophy in a nutshell. Thanks, markytex, for being so honest.

[denicci1977]

This is a sorry SOB and many of the GOP think just like him. Why on earth is he elected ? Get some sense Iowa.

[noneIn2008]

Have you looked at 80% of our Senators and Congress people. Yep, lets hear a sound bit from Maxine or Barney. Agree, you wonder what are the people thinking. Dem or Rep, the people are getting what they deserve by electing this gang of incompetent leaches and crooks.

[sticksnstones]

Wow !!! This guy is telling you folks in Iowa that he doesn't want his job any longer. You should oblige him. What an out-of-touch, angry old white man with an over-inflated sense of entitlement.

[noneIn2008]

Nice use of labels. Judge the individual, but no need to use artificial labels.

[BadgersBite]

I was laid off on February 26, 2009, I'm single and the only sorce of income for my two children. I'm fortunate that I don't have many bills, just the montly ones, my car is 12 years old and has been paid off for some time so I'm lucky in that respect too. I'm not someone who lives above their means and I have about 4-5 months worth of savings in my bank account. The real scarry part was losing the heath insurace for myself and my children, yes the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act gave us some breathing room on the COBRA payments for 9 months, thank Obama for that. But if I had to try and live on unemployment, about $1,500.00 per month, and if I was laid off for more than 9 months there is no way I could afford to pay for COBRA which would be over $950.00 per month and pay my bills too.

The point is no one should have to lose their health insurance just because they lose their job. No other industrialized country in the world allows that to happen. We need to change the way heath care in this country is provided to people in the US.

My fear is that congress will pass some watered down version of health care reform unser pressure from the insurance lobbyist and they will game the systems so that we will end up no better off than we are now.

[loki]

I can actually say I totally understand and sympathize with you as well. I was in a similar situation in the past, and if things keep going the way they are, I may be in it again.
I have the same fears except that I dont think the water downed version will be the worst part. I think they will end up contracting everything out to the insurance companies who currently deny and drop people with health care on an hourly basis. But I think that even more of the tax payer money will go into the pockets of the insurance companies, who will even make more profit by denying care like they do now. Except it will be on a grand scale. Im afraid that this will end up being the equivalent of what would have happened if Bush got his way and put all of SSI in the stock market for the mega rich to use to get richer. SSI would be lost by now, and Goldman Sach, Citi, Merl, and the rest of the mega rich would be much richer with even more tax money.
I fear it will by like everything else that was promised. Turn out to be the opposite, and a windfall for the Ivy Greed good buddy system that runs our country.

[JoeBlough]

The fact of the matter is, America is a "for profit" society. If the government helps out the "down and out", the Republicans will bellyache that they are losing business and income.

[IndyReader]

The FEHBP is not a secret. Every employee gets the plan book during open seasons. It describes each plan, it's costs, and what it does and doesn't cover. I hate to agree with an odious Repub, but he's right. You want his insurance, get a government job.

[lady49]

Since the government can't afford to hire 40 million people--that idea is a bit ridiculous...
The Repub's - always want it both ways....
You either want big government or you don't... Make up your mind Grassley!

[Jalepeno]

For those people that do not have health care, make this the public option, for that matter let anyone that wants on the plan to join it. Think of the trees and tree huggers it would save.

[BobbyK]

Ummm.....I'm a federal employee and so you all know, the Federal Employee Health Plan costs have skyrocketed. My premiums have more than double in the past two years - actually, about a 135% increase. Along with that increase is the doubling of co-pays on everything, from doctors’ visits, tests, specialists, emergency room costs, etc to prescriptions and it is astronomical. My wife and I now have to pay more than $400.00 a month on just prescription co pays. The services and coverages have been reduced as well. When I was a police officer, my health insurance premiums were paid in full by my employer. Of course we are fortunate to have health insurance, but as I sit here in Canada, I can’t help but be green with envy when I hear our friends here talk about their national health care. No horror stories, only stories about getting needed medical services at absolutely no cost. They only need to buy supplemental insurance when they travel to third world nations, oh and the USA as well. There is a better way, public health care for all! Just think of the savings for employers when they don’t have to pay health insurance premiums or even workers comp premiums alone! They could pay employees better wages, (who could then have more money to increase their spending power) and turn a higher profit. Just sayin’

[olmossy]

So we can afford to pay for his insurance as our employee. But we can't have the same plan for ourselves. My, My ! isn't that a novel Employer/Employee relationship.

[LeftRight]

That's NOT his insurance. That might be what covers him when he's back at home with his constituents, but when he's in Washington, he's eligible to use not only the Congressional doctor, but the Bethesda Naval Medical Center, the same one the President uses!! If the federal employee plan is gold plated, then the Congressional plan is solid gold, plated in silver and platinum, and coated in diamond!!

[Acleacius]

O'teh Irony! What a perfect campaign ad to run against Grassley.

Announcer: What's Sen Grassely's problem offering a Public Health Care option for the citizens of Iowa and the nation, to compete against Insurance companies?

Announcer: He thinks everyone should work for the government.

Announcer: Elimination of of the private sector, to have all citizens working for the government, during 20% unemployment?

Announcer: Who will produce, manufacture and farm, imagine a world where the government controls and owns everything?

Cut to Pre Russia, Soviet Union and China 1950-1980 screenshots and videos.

Announcer: Is Sen Grassley, just confused or out of touch?

[Samalabear]

Perfect. Then cut to single-payer and say that single-payer allows small businesses to thrive and people to pursue their own best interests in employment and not worry about not having health care.