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Looks Like Grassley's Provision Caught the Democrats off guard with Obamacare. Now they have to think about going to the health exchanges and their bosses make the decision about how much and when they will pay. (staffers) Like all the rest of us.
Prognosis uncertain for Obama plan to fix health law glitch that impacts coverage for Congress.....
It started out a political "gotcha" — an amendment to President Barack Obama's health care law requiring members of Congress and staffers to get the same coverage offered to uninsured Americans. Wednesday, the administration tossed it back in the lap of Congress.
Proposed rules — issued when the halls of Congress are empty for summer recess — say lawmakers' offices should individually decide whether staffers are subject to a health law provision that would require them to switch their insurance from the federal plan to new coverage coming next year under Obama's overhaul.
The potential impact of the provision, authored by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, has been a huge source of anxiety for congressional staffers accustomed to getting their health insurance just like other feds, from the largest employer health care plan in the world.
The proposal does clarify that the government will continue to pay its standard share of premiums, resolving one of the biggest unknowns about the impact of Grassley's amendment. Many had been warning of a Capitol Hill "brain drain" if staffers were suddenly forced to foot the entire cost of their health insurance premiums.
During the drawn-out debate over "Obamacare," Democrats kept insisting that their goal was merely to provide uninsured Americans with the same kinds of coverage and choices that members of Congress have. Grassley, in effect, dared his Democratic counterparts to swallow their rhetoric. A "no" vote on his provision would have undercut the argument that lawmakers supporting the law only wanted regular Americans to enjoy what they themselves had.
Under the amendment, lawmakers themselves and staffers in their personal, or "official," offices would have to exit the federal employee plan and get coverage through new health insurance marketplaces coming under the law. Also known as "exchanges," the marketplaces will offer subsidized private insurance to people who don't have access to a plan on the job.
But the amendment left many key details unclear — including whether the government would keep paying its share of premiums, which works out to around 75 percent.
The Office of Personnel Management, which runs the federal employee health plan, said lawmakers themselves are best equipped to decide which staffers are part of their "official" office. The term was not defined in Grassley's amendment, and the OPM said it turns out that congressional staffers in personal offices often also do part of their work for committees or as leadership aides. Those two categories — committee and leadership staffers — are exempt from Grassley's provision.....snip~
White House floats health care fix for Congress
Prognosis uncertain for Obama plan to fix health law glitch that impacts coverage for Congress.....
It started out a political "gotcha" — an amendment to President Barack Obama's health care law requiring members of Congress and staffers to get the same coverage offered to uninsured Americans. Wednesday, the administration tossed it back in the lap of Congress.
Proposed rules — issued when the halls of Congress are empty for summer recess — say lawmakers' offices should individually decide whether staffers are subject to a health law provision that would require them to switch their insurance from the federal plan to new coverage coming next year under Obama's overhaul.
The potential impact of the provision, authored by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, has been a huge source of anxiety for congressional staffers accustomed to getting their health insurance just like other feds, from the largest employer health care plan in the world.
The proposal does clarify that the government will continue to pay its standard share of premiums, resolving one of the biggest unknowns about the impact of Grassley's amendment. Many had been warning of a Capitol Hill "brain drain" if staffers were suddenly forced to foot the entire cost of their health insurance premiums.
During the drawn-out debate over "Obamacare," Democrats kept insisting that their goal was merely to provide uninsured Americans with the same kinds of coverage and choices that members of Congress have. Grassley, in effect, dared his Democratic counterparts to swallow their rhetoric. A "no" vote on his provision would have undercut the argument that lawmakers supporting the law only wanted regular Americans to enjoy what they themselves had.
Under the amendment, lawmakers themselves and staffers in their personal, or "official," offices would have to exit the federal employee plan and get coverage through new health insurance marketplaces coming under the law. Also known as "exchanges," the marketplaces will offer subsidized private insurance to people who don't have access to a plan on the job.
But the amendment left many key details unclear — including whether the government would keep paying its share of premiums, which works out to around 75 percent.
The Office of Personnel Management, which runs the federal employee health plan, said lawmakers themselves are best equipped to decide which staffers are part of their "official" office. The term was not defined in Grassley's amendment, and the OPM said it turns out that congressional staffers in personal offices often also do part of their work for committees or as leadership aides. Those two categories — committee and leadership staffers — are exempt from Grassley's provision.....snip~
White House floats health care fix for Congress
