Richard Burr: “I have been here for 13 years. The coverage I have is less and the cost is more than when I was in the private sector…”

“I have been here for 13 years. The coverage I have is less and the cost is more than when I was in the private sector working for a company with 50 employees, but I accept that. Last year, I learned something new, though. When my oldest son became 22, I got a notice that under the Federal plan he automatically falls off our insurance. Well, it happens for every Federal employee, but what was my experience? That is what I wish to share with you. I called to find out what the Federal Government had negotiated so that my child could have health insurance. They said the exact same coverage would now be $5,400 for that individual--a 22-year-old college student, healthy as a bull. I decided I would go to North Carolina and I would negotiate to see if I couldn't find similar coverage. Not only could I find similar coverage, but I found the same coverage, and I found it with the same company. I now pay $1,500 a year for the same coverage with the same company my son was covered by under the Federal health care plan. Now, here is the glaring difference. From a standpoint of my insurance, the Federal Government still pays the same amount and I still pay the same amount. When you take a healthy person off insurance, the premium doesn't go down.”