As Republicans continue to equivocate about when they will have a “replacement” to the ACA, or stick to their notion of a delayed (by years) “repeal and delay” strategy, I believe that a crucial fact and a sane public challenge are being ignored: by law, the Republican Congress must get their insurance through the ACA and, at minimum, Republicans should not be allowed to repeal this “Congressional Mandate” until they complete their work by passing a replacement plan.
Republicans count on people forgetting that it was Republicans who insisted that Obamacare apply to all Congress members and their staff and it was precisely so that Congress could feel first-hand the effects of their legislating. The background:
Members of Congress are treated differently under Obamacare, but they're not exempt. In fact, by forcing them to purchase health insurance through publicly run exchanges, they're impacted more by that key provision than similar employees in private sector — or even in government.
. . . . Here's the history: During the 2010 debate over the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, proposed an amendment requiring members of Congress and their staffs to purchase health insurance though state exchanges. Democrats, viewing the amendment as a political stunt, co-opted the idea as their own and inserted it into the bill.
“My goal, regardless of how the amendment was worded … was that we need to go into the exchange so that we would have to go through the same red tape as every other citizen," Grassley told Roll Call at the time.
And, thus, continuing today, Congress and their staff have to get their insurance through the ACA because of this Congressional Mandate.*/ That’s right: even Paul Ryan and his staff are on the ACA.
The Republican logic that Congress and their staff should bear the risks and effects of their own legislating on healthcare applies with even greater force going forward.
Republicans are proposing to repeal parts of Obamacare, and leave other parts in place. By their own admission, a full “replacement” could take years to complete. In the meantime, even Republicans admit that their partial repeal plan could severely damage or fatally harm the ACA exchanges. Indeed, experts worry that the Republicans’ actions could destroy the individual insurance market entirely. Why would we allow Republicans silently to escape their ACA obligations right at the moment that their own legislative chicanery is threatening millions of other Americans on the exchanges?
According to the Republicans’ own logic and existing law, Republicans should remain subject to the Congressional Mandate unless and until they pass a “replacement.” What good faith argument could they have to the contrary? In addition, Republicans argue that their “delay and replace” approach would force Congress to act at some point to avoid calamity. There would be much more of this desired pressure if Congress itself remained directly on the hook during this whole time, no?
After all, if Republicans are telling us that “they got this,” if Speaker Ryan and Ms. Conway are telling us that “no one [will be] left out in the cold” and “no one [will be] worse off,” then what the heck is Congress doing by sneaking out the ACA back door while no replacement plan is even on the table?
Key: Democrats need to propose a bill keeping the Congressional Mandate in place, and begin publicly challenging Republicans to “put their money where their mouth is” on this easy issue. Then, we won't watch Paul Ryan on CNN promising to save your insurance, but promising to save his own goddamn health insurance.
See what a difference this makes? And the public would understand it in a heart beat.
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*/ Specifically, Congress and their staff must get their health insurance through a D.C. based small business ACA exchange known as SHOP.