Under Obamacare, are members of Congress required to choose from the same set of available health insurance plans as everyone else? – YES
General Reference (not clearly pro or con)
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Section 1312, "Consumer Choice," page 64, signed into law on Mar. 23, 2010, available at www.thomas.gov, states:
"(D) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE.-
(i) REQUIREMENT.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are-
(I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or
(II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act).
(ii) DEFINITIONS.-In this section:
(I) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.-The term 'Member of Congress' means any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate.
(II) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.-The term ‘congressional staff' means all full-time and part-time employees employed by the official office of a Member of Congress, whether in Washington, DC or outside of Washington, DC.”
Under Obamacare, are members of Congress required to choose from the same set of available health insurance plans as everyone else? – YES
PRO (yes)
CON (no)
Patrick Leahy, JD, US Senator (D-VT), in the "Fact vs. Fiction" section of his "Health Care Reform" webpage, available at www.leahy.senate.gov (accessed Oct. 8, 2012), stated:
"Fiction - Members of Congress are exempt from the health care reform law.
Fact - No one has received a special exemption from the Affordable Care Act.In fact, the health care reform law explicitly includes language regarding the health insurance plans for Members of Congress and their staff.
As a United States Senator, Senator Leahy's health plan options are the same options offered to all federal employees. Included in the Affordable Care Act, was a provision that requires that 'the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and Congressional staff shall be health plans that are created under this Act or offered through an Exchange established under this Act.' Members of Congress and their staffs can only purchase health insurance coverage from the health insurance exchanges that are made available for uninsured Americans. The full text of this provision is available on pages 80-81 in section 1312 of the Affordable Care Act."
Ada S. Cornell, Information Research Specialist for the Congressional Research Service, in a May 3, 2012 report, "Health Benefits for Members of Congress," available at www.waxman.house.gov, stated:
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148) requires health benefit exchanges to be established in every state by January 1, 2014. A provision in ACA requires that the only health plans available to Members of Congress and certain congressional staff as a benefit of their federal employment are health plans created under the ACA or offered through health insurance exchanges, as created by the ACA. The language implies that Members of Congress and certain congressional staff will no longer be eligible to enroll in FEHBP [Federal Employees Health Benefits Program]."
Annie L. Mach, Analyst in Health Care Financing, and Ada S. Cornell, Information Research Specialist for the Congressional Research Service, in a Sep. 19, 2012 report, "Laws Effecting the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), available at www.fas.org, stated:
"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, as amended), March 23, 2010
Beginning in 2014, Members of Congress and congressional staff may only enroll in health plans created under ACA, or offered through an exchange. Congressional staff, for the purpose of this requirement, will be limited to those part-and full-time employees who are employed by the official office of a Member of Congress (i.e., in a 'personal office')."
[Editor’s Note: Based upon a neutral reading of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and bi-partisan third party analysis, this question seems to have a clear and obvious Pro (yes) answer, and ProCon.org has therefore presented the responses in a single column with no opposing perspective.]
