Is Congress Exempted From Obamacare?

Like many Americans, you may be outraged to hear Congress is exempted from Obamacare, a fact repeated by Sen. Ted Cruz amid his Green Eggs And Ham reading before ACTA officially became the law of the land more effectively.

It’s insane, to think Congress exempted themselves from this law that the rest of us are subject to living under. It’s infuriating. It’s just the sort of thing those hoity-toity D.C. jerkwads would do.

It’s also, by and large, not true. While Congress and congressional staffers are in a few senses outside the standard Obamacare provisions, it isn’t because those wily Beltway insiders freed themselves from the shackles of a soon to come Islamosocialist dystopia.

With the framing of the statement about Congress being exempted from Obamacare, it’s pretty clear what some media sources want you to think — that the ACA is so horrible, dangerous, and undesirable Congress couldn’t get themselves a special rule change fast enough.

The truth? That like any employer, Congress is able to allow its employees to benefit from compensation packages that include healthcare spending — you know, the standard system most of us are used to living under in the US.

The Daily Banter explains how the “Congress exempted themselves from Obamacare” lie began, saying:

“In an effort to flim-flam the Democrats, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) proposed an amendment that would force members of Congress and congressional staffers to abandon the existing Federal Employee Benefit Health Plan and, instead, to sign up for Obamacare in the health insurance marketplaces (aka. ‘exchanges’) just like ordinary Americans… But the Democrats called Grassley’s bluff and accepted the amendment.”

D’oh! So, it appears Congress exempted itself from no such thing — the simple fact of the matter is, like many private employers, Congress will partially subsidize Obamacare exchange transactions. DB adds that “Congress has to buy insurance via Obamacare… [b]y law.”