Special Health Care for Congress: Lawmakers' Health Care Perks

[kpete]

Source: ABC

Special Health Care for Congress: Lawmakers' Health Care Perks
Little Known Office on Capitol Hill Provides Quality Medical Care for Low Price
By JAY SHAYLOR and MARK ABDELMALEK

This fall while members of Congress toil in the U.S. Capitol, working to decide how or even whether to reform the country's health care system, one floor below them an elaborate Navy medical clinic -- described by those who have seen it as something akin to a modern community hospital -- will be standing by, on-call and ready to provide Congress with some of the country's best and most efficient government-run health care.

Formally called the Office of the Attending Physician, the clinic -- and at least six satellite offices it supports -- bills its mission as one of emergency preparedness and public health. Each day, it stands ready to handle medical emergencies, biological attacks and the occasional fainting tourist visiting Capitol Hill.

Officially, the office acknowledges these types of services, including providing physicals to Capitol police officers and offering flu shots to congressional staffers. But what is rarely discussed outside the halls of Congress is the office's other role -- providing a wealth of primary care medical services to senators, representatives and Supreme Court justices.

Through interviews with former employees and members of Congress, as well as extensive document searches, ABC News has learned new details about the services offered by the Office of Attending Physician to members of Congress over the past few years, from regular visits by a consulting chiropractor to on-site physical therapy.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/congress-health-care-clinic/story?id=8706655

[elleng]

1. GREAT!

Kick their d*****d asses!

[hobbit709]

2. I wonder what percentage of the "No Public Option" clowns

are using this perk. Even money says 100%.

[cyclezealot]

10. 99.5% maybe.

Ohio's Sen. Sherrod Brown has gone on record.. He will not accept the public option plan for himself, until it is made available to the general public.. Not sure what private option he subscribes to for himself as a result of his refusal to take the Congressional plan. ?

[Bluenorthwest]

3. the other important question for Congress is

what percentage of their salary are they required to pay in premiums. Single digit numbers all around.

[lakeguy]

4. k&r

this needs to spread far and wide!

[Cass]

5. They have the best healthcare at their fingertips for $500/yr while 45,000 people die each year

from not having access to healthcare. And to really pour salt in the wound, those 45,000 people paid for these congress people to have this medical service. This is an outrage, it really is. We have a completely dysfunctional system and we need to change it.

If Congress is unable or unwilling to pass REAL healthcare reform with a robust public option with no triggers that takes effect way sooner than 2013 then it should be the public's mission to strip them of their medical benefits. I am not interested in subsidizing the healthcare for these greedy asshats any longer if they cannot do what is right for the people. Let them go participate in private health insurance plans if they think its such a great system.

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

From the OP article:

Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care, sources said, is subsidized by taxpayers.

Last year, Congress appropriated more than $3 million to reimburse the Navy for staff salaries at the office. Next year's budget allocates $3.8 million for the office, including more than half a million dollars to upgrade the Office's radiology suite. Sources said additional money to operate the office is included in the Navy's annual budget.

In 2008, 240 members paid the annual fee, though some sources say congressmen who didn't pay the fee were rarely prevented from using OAP services.

[area51]

9. Even more.

100,000 people die each year in this barbaric country due to lack of healthcare.

Meanwhile, congress says "single-payer healthcare for me, but not for thee."

[dmr]

6. No rate hike in 17 years! No wonder so many are out of touch with America

One aspect of the office's operations which remains unclear is just how the annual $503 fee is determined.

Until 1992, OAP services were free to members of Congress. But after former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania angered members by introducing a bill to make Congress members pay market rate prices for using the OAP, a compromise was reached.

Instead of charging for each service, Wofford said, members of the House and Senate agreed to hire independent consultants to determine the average value of the services offered and to use that amount to determine an annual fee.

"We thought of the pricing much like an HMO," Wofford said of the compromise pricing model. "The attending physician at the time told me he had no interest in handling insurance or billing for each service available."

But Wofford said the House and Senate committees tasked with determining the fee each insisted on hiring their own consultants, leading to a split pricing system. According to press accounts from 1992, the Senate set the fee at $520; the House fee was set at $263 for the same care. At some point, sources say, the separate rates were scrapped and replaced with the single fee, now set at $503.

The Office of the Attending Physician refused to comment on the fee or why it has not changed significantly in 17 years, despite rampant inflation in all other areas of health care costs.

Anderson refused repeated requests for the Committee on House Administration to provide details of how the rate is determined or who determines it. "Members pay an annual fee determined by an independent actuary for use of the OAP services," Anderson responded each time he was asked about the pricing model.

Defending the Office

While many former staff members told ABC News they believe the services of the Office of the Attending Physician were often abused by some members of Congress, others, including Balbona, said the office serves a necessary role protecting the legislative branch of the federal government. Balbona said he agreed to talk to ABC News to defend the O.A.P.

"They provide members an accessible, professional place to get services. The alternative would be members going throughout Washington, DC, interrupting their service to our country," Balbona said. "It's not a political perk. Much like a medic who's in combat, it's not a perk for those soldiers. It's part of the mission."

Like a medic in combat?
:grr:

[Soylent Brice]

7. lovely. n/t

[FarCenter]

8. Many of our Senators and Representatives are so old and decrepit that they need this level of care

Congress resembles a nursing home.

The average age of Members of both Houses of Congress at the convening of the 111th Congress is 58.2 years; of Members of the House, 57.0 years; and of Senators, 63.1 years.

However, many of them are way over the averages.