Covered for Life; Paid for by US

Congress has already exempted itself from Public Option
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor

One of the clearest messages from the Town Hall forums during the August congressional recess was that people want Congress to be covered by the same health care reform plan they impose on the rest of us.

Members of Congress presently get health insurance coverage through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which offers enrollees nearly 300 choices among a variety of plans, coverages and costs.

The FEHBP covers federal employees and retirees, as well as Members of Congress, though the latter have additional perks of office that make their health coverage far better than that available - or affordable - for the vast majority of working Americans.

Public anger may explain why the White House is now insisting that Congress has not exempted itself from the Public Option, most notably in this new "Reality Check" video on the White House web site featuring former ABC reporter Linda Douglas, who now flaks for Obama as communications director for the White House Office of Health Care Reform.

The problem is, according to The Heritage Foundation's Robert Moffitt, the White House assertion is "incorrect."