Members of Congress have their own health care plan.
In a guest column in the N&O, health care advocate Adam Searing notes that the Federal Employees Health Benefits program is one of the best in the nation.
With the federal government subsidizing 72 to 75 percent of the plan, an older senator and spouse pay as little as $290 a month in premiums.
In addition, senators and representatives also have access to a physician's office with 13 top doctors and the top-notch National Naval Medical Center.
Searing says eliminating the benefits would "inject a little reality" into the debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
"Members would still be able to purchase health coverage, but paying full freight might bring home for some the frighteningly high costs many North Carolina families face," he writes.
