The ACA says that all members of Congress and their staffs must purchase healthcare on the marketplaces, just like everyone else enrolled in Obamacare. The government gives them a huge subsidy, but they still have to purchase it. The idea behind that was that if it's good enough for the American people, it's good enough for Congress.
In the second pass at the AHCA, the law will retain popular features of the ACA - coverage for pre-existing conditions, and minimum coverage for things like maternity and mental health. The difference this time around is that individual states may opt to waive that coverage. A Republican congressman, Rep. Tom MacArthur of NJ, slipped in an amendment that would exempt members of Congress and their staffs from those waivers - they would get to keep those features even if their constituents didn't.
http://www.vox.com/2017/4/25/15429982/gop-exemption-ahca-amendment
As the article notes at the top, after Vox broke the story and he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, MacArthur now says he will "close the loophole". The only way to explain this is arrogance on his part - how do you justify taking something away from the people who elected you while keeping it for yourself? |
