Breaking: Will Lawmakers and Aides Quit Over ObamaCare?
Dozens of lawmakers and aides are so afraid that their health insurance premiums will skyrocket next year thanks to Obamacare that they are thinking about retiring early or just quitting.
The fear: Government-subsidized premiums will disappear at the end of the year under a provision in the health care law that nudges aides and lawmakers onto the government health care exchanges, which could make their benefits exorbitantly expensive. (Politico)
I’m sure they’ll find that things aren’t all that rosy on this side either.
Hopefully personal incentive will prompt them to rethink this legislation, but I’ll bet that they just try to amend it to improve their own situation.
They won’t eat the meal they cooked up for the rest of us?
So what’s different?
Let me see… Members of Congress campaigned 24/7 against a field of opponents. They hired consultants to advise them on strategy for their run for Congress. They made thousands of calls to plead for financial assistance from donors. The Senate and the House are both Millionaire’s Clubs — many Members dipped into personal savings to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund their run for Congress. But forget all that — Members of Congress are now going to throw up their hands and quite, pack up their toys and go home because they now have to pay an extra $5,000 or $10,000 per year in health insurance premiums…
It could happen… NOT!
Great point, Bubba. Most of them have huge financial incentive to stay right where they are, although, many of them probably have highly marketable skills that could translate into more wealth if they moved out of Congress. I guess it just depends on how much utility a Congressman gets from shaping the laws. Eliminating some of their financial incentive would push out those who are there for personal gain, which may be good or bad (more ideologues, less pragmatists).
Interestingly enough, some of the people who helped get Obamacare passed will now suffer the consequences.
Sometimes healthcare supersedes politics.
No Jo Jo, they are being penalized in a way virtually no employee of large firm will be. I’ll guarantee you that IBM and Oracle and Microsoft and Google and the executives of Walmart will suddenly lose access to their group plan and have to purchase a policy on the exchange.
Yeah…this is not really substantiated. I really don’t see many people quitting over this. Something will be done, they’ll be fine and the average middle-income and lower-income American will continue struggling with high costs.
Not much will change on the hill, unfortunately.
“Currently, aides and lawmakers receive their health care under the generous Federal Employee Health Benefits Program. The government subsidizes upward of 75 percent of the premiums for the health insurance plans.”
Basically, eliminating the subsidies is a pay cut.
Will Lawmakers and Aides Quit Over ObamaCare?
With any luck some of the worst offenders will get thrown out of office over ObamaCare!
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