Congressmen Choose CT Health Plan over Federal Benefits: Report

TRUMBULL, CT — Congress often gets railed on for the generous healthcare coverage that current and former members can enjoy. Turns out that retiree medical benefits through the State of Connecticut are even better.

Five current or former congressmen from Connecticut elect to take state health care coverage over federal benefits, according to new data uncovered in an FOI request made by gubernatorial candidate Tim Herbst.

The five members include: Former congressmen Christopher Shays, Joseph Lieberman and Rob Simmons and current members U.S. Rep. John Larson and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

"The fact we have current and former members of Congress electing to take state coverage, instead of what they are eligible for from the federal government, puts in perfect perspective how excessively generous these state plans are," Herbst said.

Former U.S. Rep. Chris Shays said while the federal plan is generous, Connecticut's plan is even more generous, according to the Hartford Courant. He said he agreed with Herbst that Connecticut's plan has to be revised from its 'absurdly' generous current state.

"We have a $19 billion unfunded retiree health care liability in this state, only by reforming these kind of excessive perks can we return stability to Connecticut's budget and begin to repair our business climate," Herbst said.

All five members are enrolled in the state's supplemental plan that covers 20 percent of the cost that Medicare doesn't. The premium is zero dollars, according to the Courant. Co-pays are $5 for generic prescription drugs and there is no co-pay for chronic condition drugs such as hypertension or diabetes.

The five members put in more than 10 years on the state payroll which made them eligible for retiree healthcare coverage.