Nebraska Sen. Jeremy Nordquist wants to shut the governor and other officials out of the state employee health plan.
Nordquist says he will introduce a bill next year that would treat elected state office-holders the same as their constituents. He says the bill would force lawmakers, the governor and other officials to buy their own insurance through the private market or in the exchanges required under the federal health care law.
Republican Gov. Dave Heineman submitted a proposal for a high-deductible health savings plan to the federal government this month. He deemed it the “Nebraska option.”
Nordquist, a Democrat, says many families can’t afford the plan’s $8,000 out-of-pocket deductible. He says he wants to send a message: What’s good for constituents should be good for elected officials.