According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Web site, there is a nifty public option in place that nobody’s mentioned during the town hall debates on health care: “The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program can help you and your family meet your health care needs. Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country.”
And that’s not just rhetoric folks, check it out:
Federal employees pay on average 25 percent of the premium for their health care coverage, with the government (i.e., the taxpayers) picking up the rest of the tab. Under Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Basic Family plan, the 2009 monthly premium is $865.93 with the government paying $649.45 and the employee kicking in $216.48. Other providers include Aetna, United Health Care, Humana and Kaiser Permanente.
Sign us up. That’s a public option we like.
When your congressional representative rolls into town to get feedback on reforming health care in this country, make sure you request the best health care plan available — the same plan that Congress enjoys.
–m. lee
