Reply #2: again: fed employees and congress have INSURANCE benefits like millions of other workers [View All]

[havocmom]

Employee pays some, employer (who happens to be the government) pays some. Fed employee INSURANCE coverage even varies depending on which state fed employees live in. The (government) employer contracts PRIVATE INSURANCE companies for the individual INSURANCE GROUP POLICY covering fed employees in each state.

The only real difference between the 'government paid health-care' (which is group INSURANCE for fed workers) and many other group INSURANCE policies that other employers provide and help workers pay for is: Fed employees cannot have INSURANCE company deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.

I will admit, that is a nice thing, that rule that INSURANCE companies can't get creative about pre-existing conditions being a grounds to deny claims/coverage. But fed employees pay for part of their group INSURANCE and have to jump through the INSURANCE company hoops just like anyone else who is fortunate enough to be covered by health INSURANCE.

Yes, the government (taxpayers) pay a big chunk of the premiums, but federal works, in general, get paid less than what they would make doing same in private sector. ANY employer who provides funds toward group INSURANCE does that as part of the compensation they pay their employees.

It is disingenuous to go about calling INSURANCE coverage for federal employees "government provided health care". It is disingenuous to the point of being propaganda, teetering on being an outright lie.

Frankly, it is very disturbing that this propaganda keeps getting posted here at DU. One would hope DUers would be more honest about the facts of a particular matter. This crap meme that fed employees get 'government provided health care' is the same crap the RW shouts, again without getting the facts right.