Health Care Update

Obviously, we write a lot about civil servants and military personnel on this blog--but what about those most most criticized of government employees, the politicians? Believe it or not, they're taking a beating in the health care debate currently underway in the Senate.

As it stands now, the Senate health care bill would require all members of Congress--and their staffers--to use either the public option, or to buy insurance off of the state-based exchanges. (This grew out of a previous attempt to completely eliminate the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, and enroll all federal employees into the exchanges.)

A slew of amendments submitted on the Senate floor this week would further restrict the health care options available to elected officials. One amendment, submitted by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., would require all members of Congress to enroll in the public option--the government-run health care plan which would be created by the bill--and it would also require the federal government to specifically use the premiums that would have been paid for them under FEHBP to help fund the option.

Yet another amendment, filed by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, would enroll members of Congress in Medicaid, the health care option currently available for low-income Americans. One more amendment from Sen. David Vitter, R-La., would ensure that members of Congress do not receive care in a military hospital. So far, these amendments only affect the elected officials themselves--not their employees, and certainly not employees under the executive branch.

What to make of all of this? For the most part, it's about making a point, that Congress shouldn't create any new program it wouldn't be willing to take part of, itself. In terms of actual policy, I bet that the most far-reaching part of this would do with Congressional staffers, who sometimes hop from the executive to legislative branches, but might be more reluctant to if it would mean losing their health care plans. And who knows, if representatives and senators are forced into health care plans they don't like, maybe it would open the door for lobbyists to supply them with cushy plans as a way to gain influence.

But so far, none of these amendments have been voted on, and there's no guarantee that they will ever see a vote. So we'll just have to wait and see.