Congress gets health benefits denied to taxpayers

I have asked both my U.S. senators, both Reputlicans, what kind of health insurance they have and how much they pay. Guess what. Neither has yet replied. Surprise, surprise, surprise! And I couldn't afford $356.59 per month, although I live frugally and make a lot more than a lot of people.

http://blog.healthcareforamericanow.org/2009/07/14/why-cant-we-have-health-benefits-as-good-as-chuck-grassley/

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley gets a pretty sweet deal as Senator on health care. He pays $356.59 per month, and the most he pays when visiting a doctor or hospital is $300. Compare that to your average Iowan family, who would pay almost $600 a month and be on the hook for $5,000 or more if they went to the hospital.

And who pays for Grassley's benefits? Taxpayers like you and me.

Senator Grassley's health benefits meet his needs and their affordable. So why can't people like you and me have something just as good?

Grassley was asked this very question by an Iowa voter at a town hall a few weeks ago. Instead of honestly answering the question, Grassley dismissed it, saying first that the citizen should get a job with John Deere (which recently laid off hundreds in Iowa) and then that the citizen should get a job with the federal government - a job like Senator Grassley's - if he wanted health care as good.


Listening to the video, Sen. Grassley noted that he pays 32% of the cost of the insurance.