Yellow Card: End the Exemption
END CONGRESS’ SPECIAL EXEMPTION FROM OBAMACARE
“Will you sign an Executive Order overturning the Office of Personnel Management ruling that allows Members of Congress to receive illegal premium subsidies?”
Background
Did you know Members of Congress and their staffs get special treatment in the ObamaCare exchanges?
The issue is somewhat complex, but it’s worth examining. Under Section 1312 (D) of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), Members of Congress and their staffs can no longer get their health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). They also lost a generous FEHBP subsidy ($5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for the family plan). But, rather than lose that benefit, Congress re-classified itself as a “small business” – an absurd designation, considering that roughly 20,000 people are Congressional staffers – so they could retain the subsidy.
So Members of Congress and their staffs now get special treatment in the ObamaCare exchanges, treatment not available to anyone else who purchases insurance through the exchanges.
Ending the special exemption for Congress is necessary for two reasons: First, because our Declaration of Independence says that we hold as a self-evident truth that all men are created equal, and that means no man is above the law; second, because if you really want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, you’re going to have to find a way to get at least a few Senate Democrats to vote to repeal, and there’s no better way to raise the temperature and increase the pressure on a Senate Democrat than to force spouses and staffs to live under the law as it was enacted, with no more premium contributions paid for by their employer.