Obamacare Is For the Peons… Congress to Keep Their Gold-Plated Health Care Plans
Posted by Jim Hoft on Monday, October 19, 2009, 5:51 AM
Obamacare is for the peons and knaves.
Our moral superiors have more important things to worry about.
Congress will keep their gold-plated insurance plans as they force the rest of the country into a rationed health care government plan.
Townhall reported, via Free Republic:
Personal doctors on call 24/7. Coverage that knows no caps. No exemptions for pre-existing conditions.
Those are the sorts of benefits members of Congress currently enjoy on the taxpayer’s dime, and the kinds of benefits Americans on a government-run public health care plan will never see if Obamacare passes.
“One thing is certain: Congress will exempt itself from whatever lousy health care system it forces on we little people,” said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute. “Congress will get better insurance than you do because politicians always get a better deal under government-run health care.”
While it’s not news that Congressional health insurance plans are posh, CBS News recently uncovered the details of plans – right as the details of the Baucus health care bill are being hashed out.
Members of Congress can choose from five different plans, and have access to both the VIP Bethesda Naval Hospital and a reserved spot Ward 72 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, an elite division usually reserved for military members. Their everyday medical concerns can be taken care of at a doctors office located inside of Congress.
Their premiums are the same as those of insurance plans with half the benefits, and the plans last a lifetime; not until Medicare kicks in do ex-Members or loose their Congressional health benefits. Congress has repeatedly voted down any provision that would switch their insurance plans to the lower-grade public option if Obamacare goes through.
Helen Evans, the director of Nurses for Reform, a campaign for more consumer-led, sustainable healthcare systems in Britain, said that this sort of elite care for the bureaucracy – and low-brow care for the plebes – is the same thing that happens in the government-run British health care system.
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kittymyers commented:
What about the elite who aren’t elected officials, like the Barbra Streisands and the Oprah Winfreys? Will they be forced into the crappy government plan like the rest of us?
Somehow I just can’t picture Michael Moore waiting in line for hours to see a doctor.
…
olm commented:
When did the government in DC become the ruling class? When did they forget that they work for us?
This is crazy. The thought that these crooks deserve better than anyone else is crazy.
Jayson commented:
PASS THIS TO ALL MILITARY RETIREES
To my fellow warriors as we are the younger retired Marines, this
topic is hot. I want the best for our buck.
PASS THIS TO ALL MILITARY RETIREES
This is true. It is on pages 77, 172, 218, and 434. You have to dig
to see the charges. We (retirees) would lose the Medicare for life benefit
and would have to pay.. We would lose TRICARE as a total care package. We
would not be allowed to keep TRICARE so when Obama stands and says if you
like what you have you can keep it, he lies.
This is a “Heads Up” on a battle we are facing now and down the road
with the new Administration. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has
already drafted proposed legislation that would basically reduce our TRICARE
for Life benefits to a system whereby we pay deductibles and co-pays up to
$6,301 the first year for you and your spouse, with future years being
indexed to increase with inflation.
What can we do? The article below, obtained from an Air Force
Association and written by BG Bob Clements, best describes what we can do.
Please read it and check the links for CBO language and do what Bob
says-Send this email to every Military Retiree you know and write and email
your Congressman often. For those of you that might have voted for “Change”,
you should do it more than often!
TRICARE FOR LIFE’S FUTURE….
TRICARE For Life was instituted to correct the broken promise that
military retirees would receive free healthcare coverage for life and it
covers the Medicare co-pay. Now a heavy assault has begun on
Veterans’/Retirees’ benefits to pay for other programs our President
promised during the campaign. An it is a high priority of his
administration. The one item of most interest to Retired Military is in
Article 189. If approved by Congress the first assault wave would hit in
2011 and would hit hard. It would initiate cost sharing to require retirees
to pay the first $525 of medical cost and 50% of the next
$4,725 for a first year cost of $2,888 per person. It would be indexed to
increase with inflation. A reason given for this action (for PR
effect) is “overuse” by Retirees.
For those of you who are covered by TFL you will want to pay
attention (Below) to what BG Bob Clements has surfaced about the future of
TFL. In any case, on page 189 of the Congressional Budget Office report, see
the note below on how to get to that spot, there is a strong recommendation
to eventually eliminate the program as it is too expensive. Just another
move to slight those of us who dedicated much of our adult lives to the
defense of our country.
Strongly recommend that you contact your elected officials and
register your strong opposition to the elimination of the TFL program.
Heads-up from BG Bob Clements,USAF Ret (P38 Bob)
The following has been added to the Congressional Budget
OfficeWeb Site http://www.cbo.gov/
a. Budget, Options, Volume 1: Health Care
(www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925)
For those who have never opened one of these web sites from OMB
:
1. double click on the above URL
2. click on PDF
3. click on the binoculars
4. do a search for TFL
Now here it is folks and I will guarantee if you sit around on your
behind and do nothing about it as they bring these options forward this
coming year, you will lose one of the best healthcare benefits that the
Medicare eligible retired military have..It is short of the promises made
that we fought so hard for back in the late 90s and early 2000s but it is
still the best healthcare program that anyone in the United States has, bar
none.
People who are professionals always look for the channel of least
resistance when it comes to cutting money out of the Federal and DOD budget.
I can tell you this straight on, military retirees are one of those
channels of least resistance noted for sitting around, doing nothing, and
waiting for ole Joe to do it for them. You had better wake up. Your medical
benefits are prime target. If you lose them, you have nobody to blame but
yourself. Let me repeat that … you have nobody to blame but yourself.
The way to secure your benefits is to write to your members of
Congress and to keep writing and writing and writing. ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH!!
Keep repeating the above statement until you are blue in the face.
Now I’m going to make one more statement to all of you younger
people out there who are not yet eligible for TRICARE for Life. HEALTH CARE
WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME THE DOMINATING FACTOR IN YOUR LIFE.
Remember that . . . . it will impact you big time with the utmost in
cruelty unless you are fortunate enough to die from a heart attack or get
run over by a truck.
The service organizations will put up a fight, but, they will need
your help and can’t do it by themselves. I hope this makes it clear as to
what you can expect if you do nothing.
To show you how stupid these professionals can be at times just read
the data on the noted sites closely. You will see that in spite of the MTFs
(Military Treatment Facility) need to get patients back to keep their
doctors busy and the hospitals from going to clinic status, these people
from OMB would employ a means to keep retirees from using MTF facilities by
charging them a fee for services. How dumb can you get.
Even if you are an Obama fan, and believe that changeth cometh, TFL
option from OMB will not go away. They need the money they spend on you for
other programs for people who produce nothing but votes to keep their boss
in office. If you know of anyone who is Retired Military,
Please forward this on to them. Bob
Remember- TFL is an “Earned Benefit” that’s been granted by a
previous Congress.
Dante commented:
This is just like Animal Farm. I know it was commentary on the Soviet Union but I think it applied here as well.
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kittymyers commented:
olm wrote: “When did the government in DC become the ruling class? When did they forget that they work for us?”
This has been a major problem for the country for decades now. It seems as though as soon as politicians get to DC, they begin to settle into the status quo.
…
squeaky commented:
isn’t this the backbone of the argument – a
healthcare program that they don’t have to
participate in and admittedly haven’t read or
understand. and when the flaws become undeniable who do we call…….
Uriel commented:
President Obama said he wanted to create a more transparent and accountable White House than we have ever had before…but the key words were “White House”…note the lawyer DID NOT say or include the Congress (Senate or House) or the Supreme Court for that matter…
So here we are today…at his behest, members of Congress meet BEHIND CLOSED DOORS to discuss the healthcare bill that will take over medicine in America…and they REFUSE to post the bills on the internet days ahead of time for the American people to see and discuss BEFORE a vote is taken in the Congress on it.
Sooo…in a way Obama didnt lie about that…he said in lawyer talk that he would make the WHITE HOUSE more transparent…but he didnt include the CONGRESS….ah ha!
We must pay attention to politician’s WORDS as if we are ALL lawyers…like Obama.
Its decietful what he has done and is doing…but we must be vigilant and pay attention…:)
We ARE smarter than President Obama and Rahm, but we the people have been too trusting of these powerful Democrats. They don’t deserve that much trust…and they certainly know it, but hope we dont realize it. And thats the truth.
Mike commented:
Comment deleted by Moderator.
joeswampy commented:
Jayson
October 19th, 2009 | 7:03 am
Thanks for the info.
squeaky commented:
from radioviceonline -
http://radioviceonline.com/more-obama-administration-threats-networks-must-drink-kool-aid/
drjohn commented:
The question is (rhetorical, of course) will Congress have to pay a penalty tax on the true value of these “Cadillac” plans?
jainphx commented:
It’s good for thee but not for me. Where besides Sarah Palin is anyone on our side speaking to this, no we get Newt backing rinos by the ton and asking us to just shut up. Clean house and senate is our only chance.
crystal commented:
Just keep storming heaven, people. Don’t forget to petition God, as well as the practical stuff like writing, calling, emailing, faxing, etc.
Jean commented:
What a shame the only people with common sense are peons and knaves.
Carol Herman commented:
Yup. No new wrinkles in politics. People run on fake promises. And, they get the keys to the kingdom when they win the trifecta, and ALL of DC belongs to one party.
We’ve been at this railroad station, before. And, this time? You might not believe me, but there are political critters in DC TERRIFIED they can’t get re-elected. And, missing the money pockets Corzine, in NJ has. No matter what, though, there will be lessons. Ahead. On how to run for political office. And, then? What not to do.
This time around you’ve got a women in the House. More like a rag that a clean babe. She ran, of course, on an empty promise “she’d clean up da’ house.”
What happens to lying liars? Well? What happened to LBJ? Nixon? Carter? And, the Bush’s? Is it possible we’re actually luckier to see what’s happening now, than if McCain were in charge of the same train wreck?
carol commented:
We’ve been busy working!!! and believing that our government was wroking for us in the US…
in other words–we’ve been ASLEEP!!!
It’s time to actually and individually read the Constitution and other founding documents to learn of the original intent….
n.a. palm commented:
MEMO TO: Senior Citizens
FROM: Obama mmm mmm mmm
In a few days you will be receiving a $250 check (gift) from me.
I stongly urge that you use this money to purchase funeral services, i.e. casket, cemetary lot, etc, etc.
You are going to need these things if I get my healthcare bill passed. FYI
No need to thank me. Just bow down to me.
BHO
Mike commented:
Our lawmakers forgot they work for us when they found out that reelection was pretty much automatic. Let’s hope 2010 proves a big exception!
Charlie Rangel looks awfully tired from spending our money, doesn’t he?
Make it Happen commented:
I think everyone here is wildly overreacting. Why shouldn’t Charlie Rangel get better health care then the average American…?
I mean, it’s not like he isn’t really important right…?
Tall N Tn commented:
From his appearance in the snap above, Charlie may not be long for this world anyhow. I wonder what kind of heath plan his Maker will grant to the extinguished congressman.
Hypogean commented:
Mike
October 19th, 2009 | 10:06 am
There will be no change without bloodletting.
Can you be more of a self-indulgent drama queen?
shibumi commented:
And yet, the politicos from Michigan are claiming that the health care they receive in congress is simply average:
Figures show Congress’ health benefits are modest
http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2009/10/11/news/doc4ad1c1e806120847173337.txt
However, if they are simply ‘modest’ well, why won’t they accept being on the wonderful, gold plated Obama public option?
Chisum commented:
Yep, that UK universal healthcare coverage is the best! We definitely need that here!
UK universal health care bypassed by its own workers
Stunning! Britain’s National Health Service care standards may be good enough for ordinary folks, but the people who work there know better. They are getting taxpayer money to pay for their own private care.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/10/uk_universal_health_care_bypas.html
.
Pat the First commented:
OT: Another example of lefty “tolerance”.
http://hotairpundit.blogspot.com/2009/10/pro-lifer-assaulted-at-prayer-vigil.html
If I am the guy with the camera, I would be taking that video to the police. This woman would be arrested.
bg commented:
++
i’ve said it before & i’ll keep saying it until i can’t say it anymore..
we are in the midst of a “fundamental transformation”..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqN4NIEtOY
Obama being the New World Orders chosen ‘Transformer”..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CV8Xt2VWvc
New World Order, aka: Grasshoppers & ants
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510937,00.html?sPage=fnc/world/unitednations
==
SomeOtherSteve commented:
A friend showed me an interesting perspective on government run healthcare written by someone who was at one time a speechwriter for Barack Obama.
Pat the First commented:
A friend showed me an interesting perspective on government run healthcare written by someone who was at one time a speechwriter for Barack Obama.
Button needs to be on every Fox program.
bg commented:
++
Gag Order Admission
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574481420742033560.html?mod=djemEditorialPage
[There's nothing like a Friday evening news release to hide a Washington embarrassment. In last week's episode, President Obama's health appointees lifted their outrageous gag order against health insurers for the sin of informing their customers about how ObamaCare would affect their insurance.
In September, Humana Inc. sent a mailer to some 900,000 enrollees in its Medicare Advantage plans, the program that gives seniors a choice of private insurance options, warning that spending cuts would result in reduced benefits and some people losing their coverage. The Congressional Budget Office has said the same thing, but the Obama apparat went nuclear. At the behest of Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, Medicare's administrators menaced Humana with fines and regulatory punishments, and even told all insurers participating in Advantage to shut up too—or else.
In its Friday ruling, Medicare slapped Humana on the wrist for disseminating information that it claimed was "misleading to beneficiaries"—even though it was perfectly true—but also lifted the gag order. Insurers will be allowed to communicate with enrollees, provided they get permission. This is basically a concession that the critics are right, especially considering that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defended the policy as recently as two weeks ago while refusing to answer questions about this raw political coercion from a supposedly impartial federal bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, the Administration is now threatening to strip the insurance industry of its decades-long exemption from antitrust law. This would blow a hole in the industry's profitability, as would ObamaCare for different reasons. The industry now faces a choice of playing ball with Democrats and getting punished, or trying to defeat the bill and being brutalized as an act of political revenge. This is the industry's reward for spending millions to promote "reform" in the hopes of not becoming a political target. It's still a target, and now it's poised to lose the policy fight too.]
heavens knows what esle is going
on behind MSM closed doors.. gah!!
==
bg commented:
++
re: bg @ 4:33 pm
too bad Insurers don’t read GP, i have warned
them about the crock eating them in the end..
(also testing how to link, so pardon me if it fails..)
==
Joanne commented:
These guys are narcissistic hypocrites; they really think they are above the people who elected them.
Chisum commented:
Old Two Tons of Fun may have a problem.
Rangel Is Running Out Of Favors To Cash In
http://wizbangblog.com/content/2009/10/19/rangel-is-running-out-of-favors-to-cash-in.php
Rob commented:
At what point in the decline of Western civilization did “lose” start to be spelled “loose”? It’s damned near universal by now, along with “between you and I” and “it’s” as a possessive. O tempore o mores.
Sotiredofitall commented:
I’m shocked – who would have ever thought our elected officials would take advantage of the plebs…………..
Ralph commented:
How can we, the American people, be so stupid? It’s time for revolution…not armed revolution but rather a “voters” revolution. We need to get the current politicains OUT or at least to wake up. We need “term limits” and as for the health plan…they need to suffer under the same plan as you and I. When will we all wake up?