Health care for all

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We citizens of the United States, regardless of political affiliation, have put up with more than eight years of back and forth on federal policy related to health care and health insurance. With the approaching inauguration of Donald Trump as president, it seems an appropriate time to put this important policy matter to rest. Since the Congress will have to devise “repeal and replace” legislation and/or respond to the “health insurance for everyone” declaration of President Trump, I offer a suggestion for our representative in Congress, Blake Farenthold, to propose and advocate.

I suggest that Congressman Farenthold propose a national health care and health insurance program that simply extends to all citizens the health insurance program available to members of Congress. I suspect that most citizens, once they understand the health insurance coverages members of Congress have made available to themselves, would agree that similar coverage for them and their families would be entirely acceptable. For example, such coverage would:

  • provide “gold level” coverage, thus lowering deductibles and establishing coverage of 80 percent through the insurance plan and 20 percent from the insured

  • provide comprehensive coverage not only for health care but also dental, vision, long-term care and access to health care services at medical facilities on military installations

  • have premiums subsidized up to 75 percent, with the remaining 25 percent of the premium paid by the insured citizen

  • allow the insurance coverage to be carried into retirement, which is available to members of Congress after only five years of service

About the only thing my proposal would not provided is access members of Congress have given themselves to their own dedicated physician through the Office of the Attending Physician, where members can get exams, consultations and diagnostics tests. But, I think most citizens would agree that we can’t have it all and that we would just need to forgo this perquisite.

Now let’s think about the benefits of this proposal that accrue in addition to the insurance coverages. Those benefits, it seems to me, include:

  • we resolve the question of health care coverage for all citizens and can move on to move pressing policy issues facing the country – Obamacare would be repealed and replaced, as Congressman Farenthold has so consistently advocated, and we would have health insurance for everyone, as President Trump has declared

  • we treat everyone equitably; if it’s good enough for members of Congress to give themselves, most citizens would probably see such coverage as good enough for them

  • if such coverage is available to all citizens, including veterans, we resolve issues of timeliness, quality, easy of access and bureaucratic complexity in our health care system; this latter point should be of particular interest to Congressman Farenthold given his ongoing criticism of the Veterans Administration

  • expand access to health care facilities by allowing citizens the same access members of Congress have given themselves to medical facilities on military installations

  • we retain choice in coverage so that a person can elect single coverage, family coverage or no coverage if such is available through some other means (e.g. spouse’s employer), just like members of Congress have allowed for themselves

  • who wouldn’t agree that 75 percent subsidy on health insurance premiums that members of Congress have given themselves is not acceptable

  • give citizens the same access to tax-favored benefits, like health care and dependent care spending accounts, that members of Congress have given themselves

  • citizens would retain access to Medicare and could elect one or the other program or use both, the same as members of Congress have provided for themselves

  • citizens would fall under the same restrictions and limitations related to networks of doctors, prescriptions, specialists and hospitals they can choose just like members of Congress have imposed on themselves

Let me be clear. I’m not suggesting that other benefits members of Congress have conferred on themselves be extended to everyone. For example, I’m not questioning the $174,000 salary paid to members of Congress; or the automatic, no vote salary increase members of Congress allow for themselves; or that members of Congress received their salaries by putting in only 111 days of work in session in 2016y; or, as one Republican member of Congress claimed, that the highest priority for members of Congress is fundraising; or that members of Congress can retire after as little as five years of service with a full pension, which is 80 percent of final salary; or that everyone get the same multiple retirement programs (i.e., Social Security, Federal Employee Retirement Program, Thrift Savings Account [to which contributions are matched by the federal government up to 5 percent of congressional salary]) that are available to members of Congress. No, I’m simply offering a suggestion to help resolve the persistent and complicated issue of making sure all citizens are adequately protected with health care insurance. If the health insurance coverage members of Congress have given themselves is good enough for them, it ought to be good enough for the rest of us. And, with my proposal our very own congressman can demonstrate national leadership in resolving the vexing problem of repeal and replace of Obamacare and providing health insurance for everyone.

If you’d like to see the details for yourself on the health insurance and retirement programs for members of Congress, you can visit the following sites:

Other issues raised in this statement, such as the number of days Congress was in session, whether Congress votes on its pay raises and the amount of time spent by members of Congress on fundraising can be found through simple web searches.

Tom Krepel

Corpus Christi

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