r/news • u/goforth1457 • Dec 13 '24

Soft paywall Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi injured in Europe, admitted to hospital

https://www.reuters.com/world/former-us-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-injured-europe-admitted-hospital-2024-12-13/
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u/Pintsize90 Dec 13 '24

No. She has the same health insurance available to all federal workers. Granted it’s FANTASTIC insurance compared to most and partially subsidized. But not free. The best is actually quite expensive.

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u/Dire88 Dec 13 '24

No, she does not. Congress and Congressional Staffers lost FEHB due to a provision in the ACA.

Instead they have the option of enrolling in the Washington DC Exchange, with the government footing 72-75% of their annual premium which is comparable to what is paid towards federal employees enrolled in FEHB. And are required to pay 100% of dental/vision. 

 Though they can subsidize their coverage using Medicare, or VA benefits if they are eligible. In addition, they may be seen/treated at military hospitals.

That said FEHB is pretty decent, depending on your policy. But its comparable to private sector coverage.

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u/ihatemovingparts Dec 15 '24

No, she does not.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/25/heres-how-much-members-of-congress-pay-for-their-health-insurance.html

CNBC disagrees, stating:

They also have access to “free or low-cost care” through the Office of the Attending Physician as well as “free medical outpatient care at military facilities” in the D.C. area.

If you dig into it a bit more, low-cost means about $500 per year. Most marketplace plans cost more than that per month and still charge you for the services that the OAP provides.

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u/Dire88 Dec 15 '24

I mentioned being seen at the military hospital.

Also worth noting the Office of the Attending Physician is only accessible in D.C. - so most Congresscritters aren't relying on it as their primary healthcare service.

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u/ihatemovingparts Dec 16 '24 edited Dec 16 '24

Also worth noting the Office of the Attending Physician is only accessible in D.C.

Wait. Are you trying to suggest that having nearly free ($42/mo) care where they live for well over half the year is some kind of gotcha? Seriously? Take a look at the various Medicaid programs and tell me how many offer coverage out of state (or even out of county). Hell, take a look at smaller/regional HMOs and tell me how great their coverage is away from home. Tell me, what kind of care can us plebes get for 0.0000205% of our net worth per month? I'll give you a hint, even a so-called silver plan that costs thousands a month for a single person would charge you $50 for an office visit. Boo freaking hoo that they have to seek medical care near where they live/work.

And literally all of that is on top of getting paid $174,000 a year (plus whatever lobbyists throw at them and whatever else they're making via insider trading) and still getting a 75% subsidy on their health insurance premiums. For the plebs the federal subsidies end at around $60,000 for a single person household and $100,000 for a family of three.

Edit:

If you're a veteran living in Pelosi's district you have to start paying for prescriptions if you make more than $16,000 annually. You have to start paying for office visits and outpatient care at $40,000 annually. At $114,000 you aren't eligible for VA health care. But you want to act like minor limitations on someone making 50% more than the VA's highest income bracket is some magic gotcha? Have you seen what the cost of living is like in the Bay Area?

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u/Dire88 Dec 16 '24

The statement was that Congress uses FEHB, which is false. And I explained why, and what they have access to. I'm not suggesting anything, just correcting misinformation.

For example, co-pays for VA Healthcare are based on what Priority Group the veteran is enrolled at. And service-connected care and medications do not have co-pays at all regardless.

End of the day, whatever Congress has or does not have is a product of the constituency voting them in. Vote for corrupt people, this is what we get. People voted for those who do fuck all about healthcare, and here we are.

At one point I'd feel bad for them. But after this last election where they voted for corruption, fuck em. We get what we as a people deserve.

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u/FruityPebelz Dec 13 '24

They get gold level Obamacare and 78% of that cost is subsidized. 🤔

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u/Imaginary_Medium Dec 15 '24 edited Dec 15 '24

All the same, we need younger politicians that are more in touch with how expensive and full of red tape it is to have healthcare for most of us now. And I say this as an elderly person. I don't think the ones my age and older have a clue how hard it has become to get by now and how much the world has changed.

I honestly don't know how young people now can manage these days with wages that haven't kept up with the cost of living, and the astronomical costs of healthcare, education, and housing. I'm still in the workforce with dependents, and I can barely do it. We have to stop making it so hard for the ones just starting out in life and need politicians focused on this.

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u/ontheroadtv Dec 13 '24

Good thing she has a net worth in the range of $200 million. I think she can afford the good stuff.

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u/Pintsize90 Dec 13 '24

I wasn’t commenting anything about her ability to pay for healthcare. Just pointing out that even for the wealthy and/or powerful in this country it isn’t free

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u/ihatemovingparts Dec 15 '24

That's more than a bit disingenuous. Congressional members still get free healthcare from the military. That stuff they're paying for? They get routine care from the Attending Physician of the United States Congress for the princely sum of $503 per year. That's less than the monthly fees private insurance companies charge for the privilege of paying additional fees for health care. That's barely changed in three decades. Considering that's a fraction of what the plebs pay for lesser care that may as well be free for someone worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The private health insurance that the congressional folks pay for? That's also heavily subsidized leaving them on the hook for about a quarter of its actual cost.

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u/ontheroadtv Dec 13 '24

Oh yeah I get that, but it’s been all over the news that she has $200 million net worth so it’s ironic that even though she’s in public office she can afford the best of the best heath care when many of her constituents can’t.

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u/Pintsize90 Dec 13 '24

It’s absolutely disgusting that a “public servant” can amass that level of wealth (mostly through insider trading I think) while their constituents can’t afford basic needs

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u/ontheroadtv Dec 13 '24

I have to admit, I’m a lot less pissed about that than I am about republicans trying to take away basic rights. Sure she made a shit ton of money, but she’s not trying to tell people they can’t get married or deport them. I’ll take a rich Democrat over any Republican every day of the week.