Health care fix spares insurance hike for Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Under a
forthcoming fix from the Obama administration, American taxpayers will
continue paying for most of the health benefit costs for members of
Congress and their aides who are being marshaled into new insurance
exchanges.
Lawmakers and congressional
staffers have been sounding the alarm that they could be forced to pay
thousands more, picking up the tab themselves. In the past, the federal
government chipped in about 75 percent. That sparked concerns that the
best and the brightest might flee Capitol Hill rather than losing a
benefit on which they and their families depend.
Under new regulations the Obama
administration will release next week, the government will keep paying
its share and that scenario will be averted, the White House said.
House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., said it was important to resolve the issue before the
August congressional recess because the exchanges open Oct. 1. She said
her own staff had told her there could be a problem with ‘‘brain
drain.’’
‘‘They are a tremendous
intellectual resource, people who could, shall we say, be better
compensated financially outside’’ of government, Pelosi said wryly.
‘‘Happily they enjoy the psychic rewards of public service — at least
for a while.’’
The latest hitch in the rollout of
the health care law was actually prompted by an amendment from Iowa
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley that forced senators, representatives and
congressional staffers to buy insurance through new exchanges, rather
than the federal benefit system most government employees use. The idea
was to force lawmakers backing the bill to have a personal stake in the
outcome.
But until now, there was no clear
mechanism for the government to contribute its part of employees’
premiums through the exchanges.
The fix came at the request of
both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, the White House said. But
officials have declined to say how deeply Obama was involved.
‘‘I just don’t have details on the
president’s private meetings,’’ White House spokesman Jay Carney said
Thursday in response to senators’ claims that Obama was personally
working to resolve the dispute. ‘‘I can tell you that Congress wrote and
passed the Affordable Care Act, and the law lays out details of how
people will get insurance.’’
Lawmakers and staffers won’t be
eligible for tax credits that low-income Americans can get to purchase
insurance through the exchanges, designed to get millions more Americans
enrolled in health care. Obama will start getting his insurance through
the exchanges, the White House official said, adding that the
administration also supports requiring Cabinet secretaries and White
House staff to enroll.
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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
