Oh, You Are Gonna LOVE THIS!!!! Poll: Republicans Want Anti-HCR GOPers To Just Say No To Gov't HC

[Beetwasher]

Republicans and independents have decided that incoming members of Congress who ran against health care reform and still take their government-funded benefits are hypocrites. Democrats, not so much.

That's one conclusion from a new national poll from Democratic firm PPP, which shows big majorities of GOP and independent voters saying the politicians who ran against the health care reform law should forgo the health care benefits they're entitled to as employees of the federal government.

Just 28% of Republican respondents said that new anti-reform members should take their federal benefits, while a whopping 58% said they shouldn't. Among independents -- who voted for the GOP in big numbers on Nov. 2 -- 56% say politicians who made health care repeal a cornerstone of their campaigns should deny themselves their government benefits. Only 27% said they should take them.

--snip--

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/poll-republicans-tell-new-congress-to-just-say-no-to-govt-health-care.php?ref=fpblg

:rofl:

[gateley]

1. Do the elected officials pay premiums for their coverage? I kind of get the

impression they do, and choose from a couple of plans, just like at many of the companies where I've worked.

I'm trying to understand why, if I'm correct, people keep harping about the care the government employees get. Is it FREE to them?

[Beetwasher]

2. It's Not Free To Anyone, But It's Gov't Run

Are you suggesting that HCR offers FREE Health Care and that's why Repubs want to repeal HCR????

It's the hypocrisy. They are against Gov't taking over people's health care. Which is NOT happening anyway under HCR. THEY will have fully run gov't health care, so how in good conscience can they accept it without being massive hypocrites?

[MadMaddie]

3. Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm


Health Care Benefits

http://usgovinfo.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=usgovinfo&cdn=newsissues&tm=78&gps=329_195_368_420&f=10&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.opm.gov/insure/

[Beetwasher]

4. Thanks, Good Info And They Do Pay Premiums, But That Was Never The Problem

The problem is they claim HCR means gov't will be running people's health care, and that's apparently a very bad thing and *gasp*! Socialism.

They need to put their money where their mouths are and give up their gov't run health plan or they will have to be considered *gasp*! socialists.

[MadMaddie]

5. Agreed!

Not seeing that happen especially since one of the New Repugs (anti-socialism) bastards was whining that it took a month for healthcare benefits to kick in?

[Beetwasher]

6. I Know! Wasn't That Something?

Damn, talk about Chutzpah!

[tsuki]

8. Does the insurance pay when they get things done in a military facility,

like Bethesda even though they are not a vet?

And the Office of Attending Physician, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/congress-health-care-clinic/story?id=8706655

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.

Oh yeah, they are so against government health care for everyone else.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

13. Yes. And the way that most employees pay, including myself, is to have that lump sum

turned into premium payments, typically taken from our biweekly paychecks. Some people have the means to pay the lump sum upfront, while others don't.

The bottom line is that federal employees pay a fraction of what the average American family pays for their healthcare a year because most of it is subsidized by the government; however, there are premiums, and those premium amounts do vary depending on the plan you get--high option v. low option, for instance.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

12. They have the public option. We ALL have the public option unless some of us

decide not to participate in any program and instead purchase our own outside of the program.

[gateley]

19. Thanks! I'm always embarrassed that I don't go look it up myself but slack

knowing that DUers know the answer to just about EVERYTHING! :hi:

[gateley]

18. No - I wasn't suggesting anything, it was just unclear to me how their health

plan worked. When one or the other has explained it, it sounded to me like what I'd been offered at various jobs, essentially a couple of plans, you choose which one you want. We paid premiums, I wondered if congress did because people keep talking about "those people getting their health care for free".

So I'm unsure of why you think I was suggesting something???? :shrug:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. Yes. They do. I am a federal employee and we all pay premiums. We just get a good discount

on those premiums. And, by the way, right now is Open Season, where we get to choose--private or not--our health care plan. I believe that the majority of federal employees like Blue Cross Blue Shield for medical, and for those who choose Dental/Vision, they typically choose MetLife.

What we have is the public option. We can choose to join the federal employees health care benefits program where we get to choose our plan; or, we can opt out of the system entirely and buy our own insurance.

My friend who works for the Fed receives a subsidy instead and buys his insurance that way.

It's not free at all.

[gateley]

21. Thanks so much for the EXCELLENT explanation! I'd assumed, with all the

people always going "I want the health care THEY have" that it was something special, maybe free, whatever. But when I heard a Congressman or Senator explain that they wanted for us what they have, the ability to choose from different plans, I thought that sounded just what I'd been offered all these years at various jobs.

So now I GET it. Thanks!!! :hi:

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. Are they just going to ignore the reason the majorities anger with healthcare?

Because it doesn't go anywhere near far enough.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. Yep! Most Americans wanted the Public Option, which is EXACTLY what

ALL federal employees--including the members of Congress--have, if they choose to, that is.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

15. Yep! Most Americans wanted the Public Option, which is EXACTLY what

ALL federal employees--including the members of Congress--have, if they choose to, that is.

[BurtWorm]

9. They shouldn't use government offices either.

Or the government's gym. Or the water in the government's sinks and toilets. Or the government's streets to get to work, come to think of it.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

17. ...and they shouldn't use the METRO!! When I said this to some of my students

who are teabaggers, they looked at me as if I had just eaten a pile of shit.

I explained to them that if there is nothing that the government does well and if they want to "drown government in a bathtub," then they should forgo ALL of the benefits that government has afforded them.

I'm not sure if they got it, but oh well...

[WillyT]

11. LOL !!! - K & R !!!

:rofl:

:evilgrin:

:kick:

[hobbit709]

16. Good. Let them put their money where their mouth was.

[prolesunited]

20. Here's a campaign by CREDO action

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/gop_healthcare_hypocrites/index2.html?rc=hlinko_1142110_GOPHealth_dk

I've posted it to my FB page and received a favorable response.

[Poboy]

22. k&r

[eleny]

23. kr

[Radical Activist]

24. Durbin has been telling them to do that for a while.

It's one of his best lines.