Will Congress finally live by the same set of rules under ObamaCare?
If lawmakers begin to enter the ObamaCare exchanges themselves, it will certainly draw attention to the hypocrisy of some lawmakers who have imposed this costly law on Americans. But perhaps more importantly, it could serve as an important lever to force lawmakers to re-examine the most damaging aspects of the law.
For all the disruption to the nation’s health-insurance system, Congress has largely managed to avoid the “ObamaCare experience.” But a recent move from the Senate Republican Conference might change that.
In a closed-door meeting this month, the conference voted to force members of Congress and their staffs onto the ObamaCare health-insurance exchanges as established by the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. While nonbinding, this could be the first step toward making lawmakers live by the same set of rules as the people they represent.
If lawmakers begin to enter the ObamaCare exchanges themselves, it will certainly draw attention to the hypocrisy of some lawmakers who have imposed this costly law on Americans. But perhaps more importantly, it could serve as an important lever to force lawmakers to re-examine the most damaging aspects of the law.
Under the ACA, lawmakers and their staffs were to lose their group health benefits and be forced to purchase individual policies through the new insurance exchanges, where the only available subsidies are based on income.
But the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, wrote rules that exempted members from the having to join the individual exchanges where individuals cannot receive employer subsidies. The OPM rules also allow members and their staffs to go into Washington, D.C.’s Health Link exchange, where they can keep their generous, taxpayer-funded premium subsidies.
The D.C. Health Link exchange is supposed to be restricted to employers with 100 or fewer full-time or full-time-equivalent employees. But the OPM rules created a special exemption for lawmakers.
The Senate Republican Conference vote deserves praise for sending a very strong message to the lawmakers who represent us and impose laws we must live by. If ObamaCare is good enough for the American people, then it is good enough for the people who work for them.