Thank you for contacting me about health coverage under health reform for Members of Congress and congressional staff. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is still in the process of establishing rules to detail how Members of Congress and congressional staff will purchase health care insurance on the exchanges, as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148). I will follow the law and make sure that my staff does as well. As you know, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. With this historic act, which I was privileged to witness in the White House East Room, our nation affirmed that health care should be available to every American, not just a privilege for those who can afford it. This legislation was originally approved by the Senate, with my support, on December 24, 2009. This new law regulates insurance companies to protect consumers, ensures that 94 percent of Americans actually have health coverage, including more than 810,000 Washingtonians currently without coverage, improves Medicare benefits, and reduces the federal deficit by over $200 billion over the next ten years. Beginning January 1, 2014, the law requires that health insurance exchanges be available in every state. The exchanges will provide structured marketplaces in which individuals can choose from an array of affordable and comprehensive health insurance plans. The law also impacts Members of Congress and congressional staff, who are required to enter these exchanges. Specifically, Section 1312 of the law states, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are— (I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or (II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act). The Department of Health and Human Services, the agency responsible for implementing the law, is working hard to execute the exchanges in the most efficient and effective way possible. The exchanges are designed so that individuals and small businesses can access affordable health insurance. The Federal Government is the largest employer in the country and the Office of Personnel Management, which handles health coverage for congressional employees, is working to establish the framework for providing health insurance for federal employees. As you may know, on August 7, 2013, OPM released a proposed rule describing how Members of Congress and congressional staff are expected to purchase health insurance created under the Affordable Care Act on the exchanges. My office staff and I will follow the rules established by OPM, and will enroll in the exchanges along with millions of Americans. We are still awaiting further guidance from OPM, including details about the enrollment process. Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Maria Cantwell United States Senator
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:25:29 +0000
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