Barbara Mikulski Retiring? Mulkski Complains about Health Care Plans Offered by Congress

Rich Vail at The Vail Spot has a post up today saying he has an "impeccable source" telling him that Senator Barbara Mikulski D-MD) will announce her retirement from the U.S. Senate within days.

Citing Mikulsk's, (74) recently broken ankle and surgery, a slow recovery and the "poor" health insurance provided through Congress, she is apparently ready to call it quits.

I can't claim to know much about the health care plans available through Congress, but there are some 300 plans to choose from - ranging from low cost to more costly, ranging from a lower deductible to higher deductibles. The insured holds the reins to his/her plan. It is a choice. These plans are not "assigned." And the insured pays - the plans are not free.

It’s not a "single-payer" system where the government acts as the one and only health insurance company. As President Bush’s chief of personnel Kay Coles James said in 2003, while lecturing at the conservative Heritage Foundation, "the FEHB program is not centralized, government-run health care." It has drawn praise both from conservatives and liberals, including President Obama, who held it up as a model for his own health care proposals.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the FEHBP offers about 300 different private health care plans, including five government-wide, fee-for-service plans and many regional health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, plus high-deductible, tax-advantaged plans. All plans cover hospital, surgical and physician services, and mental health services, prescription drugs and "catastrophic" coverage against very large medical expenses. There are no waiting periods for coverage when new employees are hired, and there are no exclusions for preexisting conditions. The FEHBP negotiates contracts annually with all insurance companies who wish to participate. There is plenty of competition for the business; FEHBP is the largest employer-sponsored health plan in the U.S.

Read the details at The Vail Spot.