One of the many, many benefits of being a member in Congress, government-subsided health care insurance, recently took effect for the newest members. However, an assemblage of over a dozen Republican freshmen that campaigned with boundless enthusiasm to overturn the new health care law signed by President Barack Obama is not on board.
Why around 15 Members of Congress Declined Coverage
The Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Plan provides coverage for more than eight million employees of the federal government and their families. All in all, around fifteen members declined coverage. Some declined coverage in protest of health care overhaul, which was voted on unanimously for appeal by Republicans in the house not too long ago, while others declined coverage in an attempt to keep their outsider image.
Among those who declined coverage were Arizona Representative Paul Gosar, who sold his dental practice after twenty-five years in the industry to pursue a life in politics, as well as Illinois Representative Joe Walsh and Florida Representative Richard Nugent.
The program for federal health care, which was created in 1960, provides employees of the federal government a wide range of insurance coverage plans from which they can choose. The structure of the program is similar somewhat to the structure of the health care insurance exchanges that are scheduled to start in the year 2014 according to the new health care law signed by President Obama.
How Democrats are Taunting Republicans
For quite a few months now, the Democrats have been challenging the Republicans to relinquish their federal insurance as a way of showing that they mean business when it comes to the dismantling of the legislation. A number of Republicans have argued that accepting federal health care coverage from the program, which is sponsored by taxpayers, makes them no different from the millions of citizens taking advantage of the health care programs that are offered by their employer.
Creative Commons License photo credit: popmisa
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