Obamacare Update: Guess Who’s Going to Pay for Congressional Staffers’ Increasing Insurance Premiums? For months we’ve been hearing from both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C. terrified that the implementation of Obamacare would decimate their staffs. Some senators and congressmen talked about a serious “brain drain” in Washington when their staff members leave. Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.), who voted for the health care law, said making the law apply to elected officials and their staffers was “simply not fair.” The problem stems from the same issue other Americans have with the looming arrival of Obamacare: insurance premiums set to increase for just about everyone in the country. And people whose employers offer “Cadillac” coverage (like Congress and their staffers receive) will be hit harder. On Thursday, President Barack Obama met with congressional Democrats to discuss the problem, and reportedly told his team that he was “on it.” Friday morning brings many reports that a deal had been struck. Politico reported that the Office of Personnel Management intends to rule that the government may continue to contribute to the health care premiums of lawmakers and their staff. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas tweeted his response to the news almost immediately: The ruling means that despite an amendment that made all members of Congress and their staffs subject to the same law they are imposing on the rest of America, they won’t have to pay for it. Instead, taxpayers will be footing the bill. Before the deal was announced, Thursday night Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that “Members of Congress and their staffs must enroll in health marketplaces as the Affordable Care Act requires.” Pelosi made no mention of the looming Office of Personnel Management deal. Coincidence? The crew at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” found it hilarious that congressional staffers were going to avoid paying higher insurance premiums — with the exception of the Huggington Post’s Sam Stein, who sat stone faced.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 16:01:44 +0000
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