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l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 USANews 讨论区 】
发信人: lczlcz (lcz), 信区: USANews
标 题: 所有动物都是平等的, 有些动物比其他动物更平等
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon Oct 7 16:10:55 2013, 美东)
Congressional Benefits Cloud Health Fight
Impasse Involves Provision Requiring Lawmakers, Staff to Buy Insurance
Through Exchanges.
By LOUISE RADNOFSKY
and AMY SCHATZ
One of the disputes roiling Washington during the government shutdown is
whether the federal government should continue to subsidize health insurance
for members of Congress and their staff. The Obama administration has
published rules saying it will, and some Republicans again attacked that
move Friday as unfair.
The impasse involves a provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act requiring
lawmakers and staff to buy insurance through the new health-insurance
marketplaces that opened this week.
The provision has caused endless headaches because the marketplaces are
designed for those who can't get health insurance elsewhere, whereas
congressional staff have long received coverage through the regular federal
employee benefits program. The federal government has acted like a typical
large employer in paying about 75% of premiums.
Under rules released Monday, the Obama administration will treat lawmakers'
offices as small businesses for the purpose of providing health insurance.
Members of Congress and their staff will get coverage through the
marketplace for small business being run by the District of Columbia
government. The rules say the government will continue to cover about three-
fourths of the cost of health premiums for lawmakers and staffers.
"We are continuing to ask for that, no special treatments for us," said the
House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.).
The question of congressional benefits is one of several at the center of
the battle over the shutdown. House Republicans have said they won't vote to
reopen the government unless President Barack Obama agrees to changes to
the health law, while the president has said the law should go into effect
as planned and shouldn't be linked to the budget fight.
Sen. David Vitter (R., La.) and some others in Congress argue that it isn't
fair for the government to contribute so much of the premium for
congressional staff because people of similar income who buy coverage on an
exchange don't have access to that kind of help.
A short-term spending measure passed by the Republican-led House during the
current government-shutdown standoff would have limited the federal
contributions for lawmakers and staff members. The Senate quickly rejected
the measure.
Defenders of the rules say that without the federal contribution,
congressional staff in effect would have to take a pay cut that could amount
to more than $10,000 for those with families.
Concerned about the effect on staff, members of Congress from both parties,
including House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi (D., Calif.), have tried in recent months to find a compromise that
would keep existing arrangements, although Mr. Boehner's public position is
that the subsidies should be scrapped.
The rules—which essentially try to recreate the status quo— were released
by the Office of Personnel Management, the government's human-resources arm.
An earlier draft attracted more than 66,000 comments, many from people
angry at what they viewed as an attempt by Congress to exempt itself from
the law's requirements.
The office had been mulling ways for lawmakers and staff to get their
insurance through the individual market in their state of residence, but
decided it was better to put everyone in the District of Columbia exchange.
The government help with premiums applies to those who purchase any of the
available "gold" level insurance plans, which cover 80% of expected health
costs.
Lawmakers and staffers are also free to reject the plans and the government
insurance contribution, according to the rules, although they can't stay in
their current federal health-care plans.
The House's chief administrative officer told members and staff in an email
Wednesday that they could begin enrolling Nov. 11 and would have until Dec.
9 to sign up.
—Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article.
David Lenihan Wrote:
Are you (Congress and Administration) tone deaf?
We....the citizens....want you to eat your own dogfood. If you pass
legislation for us....you are subject to it. The drumbeats are getting
louder by the minute as we see our country divided into two groups. Govt and
the people that pay for it. |
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