The Republican Disappearing Act

[Jim Lane]

3. He doesn't have government insurance, at least not what he used to have

During the ACA debate, Grassley tried a sleazy move for purely political reasons -- proposing an amendment that required Members of Congress to get their insurance through the exchanges (even though the exchanges were set up to provide insurance to people who didn't get insurance through their jobs). Grassley figured that, since his amendment was so monumentally stupid, the Democrats would sensibly reject it, and then he and his fellow partisan hacks could demagogue about how the Democrats were "imposing" exchanges on people but "exempting" themselves. The Democrats, not wanting to expose themselves to this substantively worthless but politically powerful attack, crossed him up by accepting his amendment.

The result is that Members of Congress (and, I think, some senior Congressional staffers and some high-ranking executive branch personnel) no longer get insurance through their jobs.

To soften the blow, Obama directed that the federal government continue to bear the burden for them, in the form of assistance with the insurance premiums on top of their regular salaries. This replaced the free health insurance that they used to get. Of course, the Republicans howled about that, too.