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Few would deny that a health care crisis looms large in the U.S. In a country with millions of uninsured and underinsured citizens, health care has become more a privilege than a right. Indeed, the United States remains the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't guarantee health care to all its citizens.

But this isn't the case for members of the U.S. Congress. Representatives and Senators alike receive some of the best health care benefits in the country, much of it paid for with taxpayer dollars. Yet these same members seem unable - or unwilling - to extend similar protections to the rest of America.

Federal Employees Health Benefits Program

As soon as members of Congress are sworn in, they may participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). The program offers an assortment of health plans from which to choose, including fee-for-service, point-of-service, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). In addition, Congress members can also insure their spouses and their dependents.

Not only does Congress get to choose from a wide range of plans, but there's no waiting period. Unlike many Americans who must struggle against precondition clauses or are even denied coverage because of those preconditions, Senators and Representatives are covered no matter what - effective immediately.

And here's the best part. The government pays up to 75 percent of the premium. That government, of course, is funded by taxpayers, the same taxpayers who often cannot afford health care themselves.

More Health Care Perks for Congress

And the Congressional perks don't stop with the FEHBP. According to the article "Health care as good as Congress gets," by John Barry, a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times, "Members of Congress have their own pharmacy, right in the Capitol. They also have a team of doctors, technicians and nurses standing by in case something busts in a filibuster. They can get a physical exam, an X-ray or an electrocardiogram, without leaving work."

Although members pay extra for these services - Representatives pay about $300 per month, and Senators about $600 - taxpayers end up kicking in another $2 million. That's $2 million not being spent on those who need it.

House and Senate's Health Care Legacy

Despite the services that members of Congress receive at the taxpayer's expense, they've done little on behalf of those who cannot afford or cannot get health care. The Oakland Tribune article "Congress' wild health care ride" (January 7, 200 cool reports that Congress' attention is instead focused on the financial well being of pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

To illustrate this point, the article states that, according to the Medicare Reform Act of 2004, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for lower prices. However, not only is this negotiating power available to governments in other industrialized countries, it's also similar to the power granted to the FEHBP, which itself is permitted to negotiate premiums and prices.

It's true that the U.S. Congress is talking up health care reform, but members of the House and Senate - both Republicans and Democrats alike - take millions of dollars in contributions from the health sector, which includes health providers, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies

In the meantime, millions of Americans are receiving inadequate health care, and millions more could lose their health insurance at any time. Those who've managed to maintain their insurance have seen their rates go up and their deductibles rise. Many end up medically bankrupt. Yet throughout all this upheaval, one thing has remained steady - the health care coverage afforded members of Congress. If they've proven nothing else, they've shown taxpayers that they know how to take care of themselves.