Surprise: The People Who Wrote the ObamaCare Bill Have Exempted Themselves from Its Provisions
This is John Lott, writing at FOXNews.com:
While everyone else in the United States — from the top corporate executives to the grocery store checkout clerk — will be forced to buy their insurance through heavily regulated state-run exchanges, the health care bill excludes one group: the [congressional] leadership and committee staff. Yes, that’s right. The very people who wrote up this bill are refusing to be included themselves. Given the narrow definition of “congressional staff” on page 158 of the health care bill, the Congressional Research Service memo believes that courts will not require “professional committee staff, joint committee staff, some shared staff, as well as potentially those staff employed by leadership offices” to go through the exchanges. President Obama and his family are also exempt from the law.
Is it possible that the executive staff had so little knowledge of how the private sector operates that it was unable to imagine a time in which private insurers have ceased to exist because ObamaCare regulators have made sure they can’t make a profit selling policies to those who do have to comply?
Wonder how they plan to exempt themselves from the resulting “public option” when it is the only game in town? Massive pay increases?
I heard on NPR that the Republicans added a provision that said that all members of the House and Senate had to enroll in Medicaid.
Now that would be awesome.
And I also think they should all have to do their own taxes.
And perhaps mow their own yards. But, I’m willing to negotiate on this last point.
ya these smuck don’t have to pay all the tax and garbage thats in this deathbill..and they laugh at us because they will have more tax money they can waste and we’ll pay through the nose for everything..IMPEACH THEM ALL…
I didn’t know that employer plans would be purchased through the exchanges. My impression is that the exchanges were intended to sell to individuals.
Too bad it passed, I just figured out how to get people to pay their bills. If they don’t pay their bills, then let all aspects of confidentiality expire for that one visit.
The exchange is for individuals. Not sure if some small businesses can send their employees to the exchange. But if they do, there are no subsidies for them.
Obama’s ability to get our idiot congress to follow his ridiculous socialist notions should remind us of another charismatic leader that led his country to world war and the murder of millions of innocent people. Lest we forget.
This is truly scandalous. Do they still allow tar and feathering? If not, they should.
I was watching the Sunday talk shows this morning and guess what the MSM forgot to discuss. This very fact. Thank God we have this blog.
The entire premise of this posting is off base. “from the top corporate executives to the grocery store checkout clerk — will be forced to buy their insurance through heavily regulated state-run exchanges” is simply false. If you work for a large corporation that supplies you with health care insurance, then that remains in effect. The only difference is the company decides to change the policy, then it has to meet some minimum requirement, which I’ll bet most policies already meet – No exchanges! As for the checkout clerk, they are more likely to currently lack company supplied insurance, so for them the exchange may turn out to be a godsend. I don’t understand why the people who don’t like this bill have to lie about what it contains.
I don’t think John Lott is lying. But artk makes an interesting point. Most CEOs — indeed, most high income people, period — will not be in the exchange. They will get no subsidies there, but they will benefit from the tax law’s exclusion of employer paid premiums from taxable income.
For reasons I will write about in the future, I think there will be a huge quality problem in the exchange. So it will be something knowledgable people will want to avoid.
So it does not surprise me that the guys who wroted the bill don’t want to be forced to be in the exchange.
November 2, 2010 – Vote ’em out! Stop the rubber-stamp Congress!
Tnen, urge your new Senators and Representative to repeal ObamaCare.
November 6, 2012 – Vote out the “Dear Leader” and other incompetents.
I share much disappointment in our current administration that seems not to read what they sign or do not read the Unite States Constitution and its very specific writing: “Almost all taxes and most other receipts result from permanent laws. The House initiates tax bills, specifically in the Ways and Means Committee. In the Senate, the Finance Committee has jurisdiction over tax laws. The budget resolution often includes reconciliation directives, which require authorizing committees to change permanent laws that affect receipts and outlays. They direct each designated committee to report amendments to the laws under the committee’s jurisdiction that would change the levels of receipts and spending controlled by the laws. The directives specify the dollar amount of changes that each designated committee is expected to achieve, but do not specify the laws to be changed or the changes to be made. However, the Budget Committees’ reports on the budget resolution may discuss assumptions about how the laws would be changed. Like other assumptions in the re-port, they do not bind the committees of jurisdiction but may influence their decisions. The committees subject to reconciliation directives draft the implementing legislation. Such legislation may, for example, change the tax code, revise benefit formulas or eligibility requirements for benefit programs, or authorize Government agencies to charge fees to cover some of their costs. In some years, Congress has enacted an omnibus budget reconciliation act, which combines the amendments to implement reconciliation directives in a single act. These acts, together with appropriations acts for the year, often implement agreements between the President and the Congress. They may include other matters, such as laws providing the means for enforcing these agreements. ”
Since our Supreme Court declared that this bill is a “tax” – then, it should originate from the House and not from the Senate’s Finance Committee that overseas tax laws. Does anyone realize that our Constitution is being violated; therefore we are being abused.