Senators who are filibustering and throwing sand in the
gears to delay health care reform desperately need a reality check. It is
ironic to me that members of Congress enjoy some
of the best health insurance in the world through our government-administered
health care, and yet so many are working overtime to deny quality care to
Americans – using scare tactics to claim the “government is going to take over
their health care.”
Well, for those
Representatives and Senators who are so terrified of a government take-over, I
say to them NO access to government run programs for you.
Members of
Congress should not have access to taxpayer-funded health care when they are
actively denying these very people quality care of their own.
So for the 150 members of Congress who qualify for Medicare, a single-payer government
insurance plan, you get no access. For
all members who are eligible for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program,
no more. And no more access to the attending physician in the Capitol, either.
Not until we pass the health insurance reform that millions of Americans so
urgently need.
I share with you
my open letter to members of Congress:
Dear
Colleague,
I
invite you to join me in sponsoring the Health
Care Reality-Check Act which I will be introducing next week.
It has become clear that some of our colleagues lack proper
perspective on the urgency of health reform because, ironically, as members of
Congress we enjoy some of the best health security in the world through
our government-administered health care:
- All Members of Congressare eligible - and most participate in - the Federal Employee Health BenefitsProgram, which provides all federal employees with a government-negotiatedinsurance exchange that is subsidized by their employer: the FederalGovernment;
- Almost 150 Members ofCongress qualify for Medicare, a single-payer government insurance plan;
- The 121 Senators andRepresentatives who served in our armed forces are eligible for the “socialized” health care we provide forall veterans; and
- Members who aren’tveterans can avail themselves to a similar “socialized”program – the Attending Physicianin the U.S. Capitol, for an annual fee of around $500.
These
government-run health programs have successfully provided countless Senators
and Representatives with life-saving medical treatments, but as we all know,
most Americans don’t have this kind of protection.
Members
of Congress should not have access to taxpayer-funded healthcare when they are
actively denying these very people quality care of their own.
Congress
needs a reality check.
In
2007, before the economy collapsed, 42% of all adult Americans under 65 were
either uninsured or underinsured. Our
dire unemployment rates and escalating health care costs have only made this
situation worse. Today half of all
American families delay seeking medical treatment because they have such a
tenuous health insurance situation. Our colleagues do not fully appreciate the
plight of 50% of our population, but we can help them understand.
Until
health reform is enacted, Members of Congress should get to experience the
tender mercies of our fragmented, complex, and exploitative health care
system. My Health Care Reality Check Act terminates all
government-administered health benefits for Members of Congress until
comprehensive health reform is signed into law: no more Federal Employee Health Benefits
Program, no Medicare, no VA, no attending physician in the Capitol.
Instead,
Senators and Representatives may self-insure or they can rely on a spouse’s
company having employer-provided insurance, thus tying them - like millions of Americans- to the employment
of a family member. Some will need to buy health insurance on the private
market, exposing them to legal discrimination based on age and gender.
By
personally dealing with rescissions, pre-existing condition exclusions, the
fine-print of insurance contracts and the gaps in coverage from weak consumer
protections maybe our colleagues can better grasp the urgency of our health
care crisis.
If
our own health security were linked to the success of health reform for all
Americans, we will have a bill enacted within weeks, guaranteed. I urge you to cosponsor the Health Care Reality Check Act today.
To
your health,
Earl
Blumenauer
Member
of Congress