Lawmakers shocked, may retire early to avoid being pushed into Obamacare exchanges

[Little-Acorn]

And the hits just keep on comin'.

Yes, you read that right. When lawmakers found out that they themselves would soon be subject to the same Obamacare rules and restrictions that they forced on everyone else, they started running like rabbits.

It's unfair, they are saying, it's destructive to our employees, the way we do business will be drastically affected as people quit or retire as a result of these new rules! Why, our insurance rates are going to skyrocket! And we won't get nearly as good care as we're used to!

And, inevitably, some of them are looking to make or extend a rule exempting themselves from the Obamacare they voted to impose on everyone else.

You can't make this stuff up, folks. Conservatives are just sitting back and shaking their head in weary disbelief. Somehow, "We told you so" just doesn't cover it.

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Obamacare? We were just leaving ? - Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman - POLITICO.com

Obamacare? We were just leaving …

by ANNA PALMER and JAKE SHERMAN
6/13/13 5:13 AM EDT

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.

Democratic and Republican leaders are taking the issue seriously, but first they need more specifics from the Office of Personnel Management on how the new rule should take effect — a decision that Capitol Hill sources expect by fall, at the latest. The administration has clammed up in advance of a ruling, sources on both sides of the aisle said.

If the issue isn’t resolved, and massive numbers of lawmakers and aides bolt, many on Capitol Hill fear it could lead to a brain drain just as Congress tackles a slew of weighty issues — like fights over the Tax Code and immigration reform.

The problem is far more acute in the House, where lawmakers and aides are generally younger and less wealthy. Sources said several aides have already given lawmakers notice that they’ll be leaving over concerns about Obamacare. Republican and Democratic lawmakers said the chatter about retiring now, to remain on the current health care plan, is constant.

Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat in leadership when the law passed, said he thinks the problem will be resolved.

“If not, I think we should begin an immediate amicus brief to say, ‘Listen this is simply not fair to these employees,’” Larson told POLITICO. “They are federal employees.”

 

[TemplarKormac]

Now isn't this damning. OBAMACARE IS A DISASTER. And it will cause rates to rise, just like most of us with our heads on straight predicted from the beginning.
[MENTION=19018]Bfgrn[/MENTION]:

 

[Little-Acorn]

Obamacare contains something called the "Grassley Amendment", which required Congress to obey the same Obamacare restrictions the rest of us were getting.

The mere fact that that amendment was even needed, tells you all you need to know about what Congress really thought of Obamacare and what it would do, even as they voted on it.

Needless to say, Congress is quietly trying to repeal that part of the law. Yes, NOW.

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Congress, Fearing 'Brain Drain,' Seeks to Opt Out of Participating in Obamacare's Exchanges - Forbes

Congress, Fearing 'Brain Drain,' Seeks to Opt Out of Participating in Obamacare's Exchanges

Avik Roy, Contributor
4/25/2013 @ 10:41AM

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) authored the Obamacare amendment requiring that members of Congress and their staff participate in the law's insurance exchanges. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Obamacare was winding its way through the Senate in 2009, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) slipped in an amendment requiring that members of Congress, and their staff, enroll in Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges. The idea was simple: that if Congress was going to impose Obamacare upon the country, it should have to experience what it is imposing firsthand.

But now, word comes that Congress is quietly seeking to rescind that provision of the law, because members fear that staffers who face higher insurance costs will leave the Hill. The news has sparked outrage from the right and left. Here’s the back story, and why this debate is crucial to the future of market-based health reform.

Sen. Grassley’s original idea was to require all federal employees to enroll in the exchanges, instead of in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, where most gain coverage today. Indeed, a previous Senate Finance Committee amendment proposed putting members and staffers on Medicaid. But “fierce opposition from federal employee unions” sank Grassley’s effort, and he had to water his amendment down to only apply to Congress and congressional staff.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

The same ones that voted for this travesty are now gnashing their teeth that they'll be subjected to the horrible trash that they heaped upon us. This is rich. Then their arrogance exceeds the aforementioned when they warn us that when they leave there will be a "brain drain".

 

[lynn63]

Hell, they will just make the tax payers pay all of their health insurance costs like they do everything else.

 

[asaratis]

The same ones that voted for this travesty are now gnashing their teeth that they'll be subjected to the horrible trash that they heaped upon us. This is rich. Then their arrogance exceeds the aforementioned when they warn us that when they leave there will be a "brain drain".

I would have to agree that not many people could do as good a job of screwing over the American public as the incumbent assholes in Congress have done for decades. The replacements will have to study hard and fast regarding how to appear to be helping the public while promoting one's own special interests.

...and here is what one congressman stated...

Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat in leadership when the law passed, said he thinks the problem will be resolved.

"If not, I think we should begin an immediate amicus brief to say, ‘Listen this is simply not fair to these employees,’” Larson told POLITICO. “They are federal employees.”

My question: How is it fair to the rest of America but not to the federal employees? What sets them apart...other than the fact that our TAXES pay their salaries whether they actually perform well, so-so or not at all?

Read more: Obamacare? We were just leaving ? - Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman - POLITICO.com

 

[LordBrownTrout]

The same ones that voted for this travesty are now gnashing their teeth that they'll be subjected to the horrible trash that they heaped upon us. This is rich. Then their arrogance exceeds the aforementioned when they warn us that when they leave there will be a "brain drain".

I would have to agree that not many people could do as good a job of screwing over the American public as the incumbent assholes in Congress have done for decades. The replacements will have to study hard and fast regarding how to appear to be helping the public while promoting one's own special interests.

...and here is what one congressman stated...

Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat in leadership when the law passed, said he thinks the problem will be resolved.

"If not, I think we should begin an immediate amicus brief to say, ‘Listen this is simply not fair to these employees,’” Larson told POLITICO. “They are federal employees.”

My question: How is it fair to the rest of America but not to the federal employees? What sets them apart...other than the fact that our TAXES pay their salaries whether they actually perform well, so-so or not at all?

Read more: Obamacare? We were just leaving ? - Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman - POLITICO.com

The FEHB is a cadillac plan compared to Ocare . Yeah, they're going to scream like a tribe of native americans descending on the cavalry when Ocare supplants their current plan.

 

[francoHFW]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz Been listening to fear mongering Pubs too?

 

[LordBrownTrout]

No, its actually happening.

 

[rightwinger]

Shame really..

Congressmen currently use the FEHB system that all Federal Employees use. They had the option of opening FEHB to all Americans but sucumbed to the "Government is taking over healthcare" hysteria

Now they can use all those Exchanges that Red States are trying to block

Poetic justice