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Republicans exempt their own insurance from their latest health care proposal

Nilly

Nilly

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https://www.vox.com/2017/4/25/15429982/gop-exemption-ahca-amendment

House Republicans appear to have included a provision that exempts Members of Congress and their staff from their latest health care plan.

The new Republican amendment, introduced Tuesday night, would allow states to waive out of Obamacare’s ban on pre-existing conditions. This means that insurers could once again, under certain circumstances, charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people.

Republican legislators liked this policy well enough to offer it in a new amendment. They do not, however, seem to like it enough to have it apply to themselves and their staff. A spokesperson for Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) who authored this amendment confirmed this was the case: members of Congress and their staff would get the guarantee of keeping these Obamacare regulations. Health law expert Tim Jost flagged me to this particular issue.
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congress_excepton.png


Repeat after me:

'Republicans really care about the American people'
'Republicans really care about the American people'
'Republicans really care about the American people'
 
Right, because Obamacare didn't set Congress up pretty compared to Joe Sixpack. :roll:
 
why should sick people not have to pay a bit more?

the same works for insurance. people who have a lot of tickets or accidents pay more for car insurance.
that is not the same as them not getting coverage.
 
Nilly said:
https://www.vox.com/2017/4/25/15429982/gop-exemption-ahca-amendment



congress_excepton.png


Repeat after me:

'Republicans really care about the American people'
'Republicans really care about the American people'
'Republicans really care about the American people'
Click to expand...

Are we reading the same document? That passage in the law disallows granting a waiver from the law. That isn't the same as making them exempt from it... in fact, it appears to be the exact opposite of that.

1312(d)(3)(D) is the requirement for congress to buy insurance on the market. The line of this law prohibits them from granting themselves a waiver.
 
calamity said:
People who vote Republican have to be the stupidest people on earth.
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what an ignorant thing to say. There are brilliant people from all political spectrum's.
 
Congress and their staffers were exempted from ObamaCare...what's the difference here?
 
calamity said:
People who vote Republican have to be the stupidest people on earth.
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Seriously... can you not read that for yourself? Vox appears to have gotten their reading completely backwards.

The Amendment in question grants the ability of a state to get a waiver to the Obamacare regulations. The quoted text of the law say A WAIVER MAY NOT BE ISSUED to the section of Obamacare that requires Congress to buy insurance through the markets.
 
jmotivator said:
Seriously... can you not read that for yourself? Vox appears to have gotten their reading completely backwards.

The Amendment in question grants the ability of a state to get a waiver to the Obamacare regulations. The quoted text of the law say A WAIVER MAY NOT BE ISSUED to the section of Obamacare that requires Congress to buy insurance through the markets.
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Read the article.

I was similarly confused at first.
 
WCH said:
Congress and their staffers were exempted from ObamaCare...what's the difference here?
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Actually they weren't. The Democrats tried to slip an exemption into the law for congress, but relented under pressure. 1312(d)(3)(D) is the section of Obamacare that requires Congress to buy insurance through the exchanges. This section of the amendment ensures that the requirement for Congress to use the exchanges can not be waived.
 
Nilly said:
Read the article.

I was similarly confused at first.
Click to expand...

I read the article and they got it wrong. 1312(d)(3)(D) is the section requiring Congress to buy insurance on the exchanges. This amendment grants waiver privilege to states, but not to Congress.
 
jmotivator said:
Actually they weren't. The Democrats tried to slip an exemption into the law for congress, but relented under pressure. 1312(d)(3)(D) is the section of Obamacare that requires Congress to buy insurance through the exchanges. This section of the amendment ensures that the requirement for Congress to use the exchanges can not be waived.
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True. Of course, they also made sure that their "employer", meaning themselves, provided Gold Level 90% plans.
 
Blue_State said:
So nothing changed from when the Democrats were in charge of the health care system?
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Obamacare didn't exempt Congress. Just the opposite: Congress was specifically required to participate. This happened during the creation of the bill, when right-wing talking heads all stood up and said "if this is so good why doesn't it make us use it huh!? not good enough for us but good enough for the masses?" Then Democrats called the bluff and said "hey yeah let's make Congress participate."

But that doesn't stop right-wingers from repeating this lie to this day.
 
Deuce said:
Obamacare didn't exempt Congress. Just the opposite: Congress was specifically required to participate. This happened during the creation of the bill, when right-wing talking heads all stood up and said "if this is so good why doesn't it make us use it huh!? not good enough for us but good enough for the masses?" Then Democrats called the bluff and said "hey yeah let's make Congress participate."

But that doesn't stop right-wingers from repeating this lie to this day.
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OH LOL! Nice spin, Deuce! The Democrats didn't call any bluffs, it was their intention to exempt themselves. That section exists in the law specifically because the Republicans called them out.
 
jmotivator said:
I read the article and they got it wrong. 1312(d)(3)(D) is the section requiring Congress to buy insurance on the exchanges. This amendment grants waiver privilege to states, but not to Congress.
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Sigh... No. Read the article.

This new amendment, which would allow states to waive out of key Obamacare protections like the ban on pre-existing conditions or the requirement to cover things like maternity care and mental health services.

If Congressional aides lived in a state that decided to waive these protections, the aides who were sick could be vulnerable to higher premiums than the aides that are healthy. Their benefits package could get skimpier as Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement may no longer apply either.

This apparently does not sound appealing because the Republican amendment includes the members of Congress and their staff as a protected group who cannot be affected by this amendment.
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Under the new bill, a state may apply a waiver to the Obamacare provision that insurance companies can't charge higher rates for the sick.

The bill says that such a waiver would not apply to members of Congress, allowing them to benefit from the provision instead of having it waived.

Vox and my OP are spot on.
 
jmotivator said:
OH LOL! Nice spin, Deuce! The Democrats didn't call any bluffs, it was their intention to exempt themselves. That section exists in the law specifically because the Republicans called them out.
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that part of the bill was proposed as an amendment by a republican senator.
not that it mattered anyway congress already has their golden parachute healthcare plan.
 
Nilly said:
Read the article.

I was similarly confused at first.
Click to expand...

What can we do but collectively shake our heads and grin when the usual group of DP RWNs continue to propagate an alternative fact? Some of them do it knowingly.

The VOX reporter did not misinterpret the intent of the proposed Amendment. The language in the proposed Amendment, in Machiavellian fashion, willfully attempts to confuse and obfuscate the exemption.
 
Deuce said:
Obamacare didn't exempt Congress. Just the opposite: Congress was specifically required to participate. This happened during the creation of the bill, when right-wing talking heads all stood up and said "if this is so good why doesn't it make us use it huh!? not good enough for us but good enough for the masses?" Then Democrats called the bluff and said "hey yeah let's make Congress participate."

But that doesn't stop right-wingers from repeating this lie to this day.
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Deuce...so literally no change. They are in the creation of the bill right now. Yes? It is the same exact thing as before. And don't tell me the 72% in subsidies for members of congress and their staff is what the typical American is seeing.
 
Congress has been exempting itself from its laws for as long as I can remember.
 
Nilly said:
https://www.vox.com/2017/4/25/15429982/gop-exemption-ahca-amendment



congress_excepton.png


Repeat after me:

'Republicans really care about the American people'
'Republicans really care about the American people'
'Republicans really care about the American people'
Click to expand...

If this is being interpreted correctly, this is disappointing always because I do not believe Congress should be able to exempt itself from what is required of everybody else. Personally I don't think Congress should have a separate health plan but let members buy their insurance like everybody else has to.

But before pointing your holier than thou finger at the GOP, remember that Obama and the Democrats also exempted themselves from all provisions of Obamacare when they initially passed it and they had pretty much a super majority in Congress when they did it.
 
AlbqOwl said:
If this is being interpreted correctly, this is disappointing always because I do not believe Congress should be able to exempt itself from what is required of everybody else. Personally I don't think Congress should have a separate health plan but let members buy their insurance like everybody else has to.

But before pointing your holier than thou finger at the GOP, remember that Obama and the Democrats also exempted themselves from all provisions of Obamacare when they initially passed it and they had pretty much a super majority in Congress when they did it.
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They didn't actually exempt themselves;

"Gold Level” ObamaCare coverage with a 75 percent subsidy paid by taxpayers or even the option of opting out and retaining their previous heavily subsidized plan. The income of members and staff is simply not counted."

Just wrong: Congress quietly takes ObamaCare waiver | TheHill
 
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