Washington, DC – Last Friday, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), along with Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), Congressmen Sam Johnson (R-TX), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Charles Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-LA) and Aaron Schock (R-IL), introduced legislation to provide that the only health plans the Federal Government may make available to the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and Federal employees are those created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or offered through a health insurance exchange.
The definition of “employee” would be consistent with the Title 5 definition and include the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, Cabinet Members and all other federal employees. This definition excludes active duty military and postal workers.
Following the bill’s introduction a Ways and Means spokeswoman said, “Chairman Camp has long believed every American ought to be exempt from the law, which is why he supports full repeal. The fact that Democrats are attempting to exempt themselves from the very law they forced on the rest of America proves they know that this law is an abysmal failure. If the ObamaCare exchanges are good enough for the hardworking Americans and small businesses the law claims to help, then they should be good enough for the President, Vice President, Congress, and federal employees. While the majority of Americans oppose this law, we can all agree that it is only fair that our elected officials follow the same rules as everyone else.”
Background
The House GOP alternative to ObamaCare was the only health care legislation scored by the Congressional Budget Office that met the top health care priority of American families – lowering the cost of health insurance premiums.