Not sure exactly, what this all means ... except for maybe Republican Obstructionists are being too cute by half.
When they start cutting their own benefits, and those of their staff, they are surely setting themselves up for some sot of "inside-the-bubble" backlash ...
Congressman Complains About Making $172,000 a Year
by Alex Seitz-Wald, National Journal, GovExec.com -- Sep 19, 2013
[...]
The context of Gingrey's comments is a bit complicated [Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia], but somehow makes the story even less flattering. By a quirk of partisan posturing and administrative rulings, the biggest victims of Obamacare may be members of Congress and their staffers, who -- if some GOP lawmakers have their way -- will lose the subsidized health insurance they currently enjoy, which operates like any other employer-provided insurance plan.
Republicans added an amendment to the Affordable Care Act to force members of Congress and their aides off of the federal government's employee health plan and onto the newly created health insurance exchanges. The exchanges weren't designed for this, and the unusual situation meant lawmakers might lose the subsidies they use to help pay for their premiums. Fortunately for denizens of Capitol Hill, the Office of Personnel Management (sort of the government's human resources department) ruled that the government could continue to provide the subsidy. Case closed?
Not exactly. The ruling prompted conservative groups like FreedomWorks to claim that Congress was giving itself an exemption from Obamacare. Gingrey, along with Louisiana Republican David Vitter in the Senate, has led the charge on the "No Special Treatment for Congress Act," which would end the subsidy.
[...]
I'm confused; Does FreedomWorks
want Obamacare for Congress -- or do they want to
End Obamacare for Everyone?
Why don't they just make up their minds, already?
Funny, seems like the GOP often has of this problem of "keep their lies straight." It seems to depend on what day of the week it is, or how soon before their next vacation, for them to know exactly what lie they're supposed to be parroting now ...
The right gets confused by its own lie
Right-wing groups claim Congress is exempted from Obamacare. But five months ago, they had a very different story
by Alex Seitz-Wald, Salon.com -- Aug 20, 2013
[...]
“If Congress gets a pass on Obamacare, you should, too,” the conservative group Freedomworks, which has been leading the push to defund the health law, demands. [...]
[From New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn:] As is often the case with these arguments, this one contains an element of truth. Obamacare really does treat congressional employees differently from other people. But that’s because of an amendment written by Senator Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican. The amendment -- almost certainly a political stunt designed to embarrass the Democrats -- created an ambiguity in the law that the Obama administration had to clarify. Last week the administration issued a ruling and, sure enough, it is getting political grief over it. But there’s no reason it should.
Grassley offered an amendment that would kick members of Congress and their staffers off the federal employee health plan and make them enroll in the new health insurance exchanges, which are mostly for individuals who don’t get employer coverage. If not for his amendment, their insurance scheme wouldn’t have changed at all. Republicans expected Democrats would vote it down, thus giving them an opening to attack the law, but Democrats called the bluff and passed the amendment.
[...]
So, in fact, members of Congress are still going to be required to use the Obamacare-created health insurance exchanges. That’s why Politifact called the exemption myth a “Pants on Fire” and FactCheck.org wrote, “No. Congress members and staffers will be required to buy insurance through the exchanges on Jan. 1.” [...]
So even though Federal Employees
already have "employer-provided" insurance -- Republicans are going to "take that away" and make themselves and their staffs compete on the Insurance Exchanges, as if they had none? I think that's the gist of this. If so, then that uninsured pool, just got a whole lot bigger -- bigger than what it was designed for, perhaps?
Not so smart, not if you value motivated and dedicated government employees. Employer-provided insurance is part of their employment benefits. Republicans shouldn't be able to revoke those benefits, simply in the name of trying to sabotaging ObamaCare. Employee-benefits should beyond their politically-sharpened Austerity knifes.
Can anyone make sense of what's the Republican's have planned here; and apparently the Dems have signed on to?