Congress, Aides Fleeing ObamaCare

Politico reports that Congressmembers and aides are finding it hard to live under the law they passed (against the objections of the majority of the American people).

The fear: Government-subsidized premiums will disappear at the end of the year under a provision in the health care law that nudges aides and lawmakers onto the government health care exchanges, which could make their benefits exorbitantly expensive.

Democratic and Republican leaders are taking the issue seriously, but first they need more specifics from the Office of Personnel Management on how the new rule should take effect — a decision that Capitol Hill sources expect by fall, at the latest. The administration has clammed up in advance of a ruling, sources on both sides of the aisle said.

If the issue isn’t resolved, and massive numbers of lawmakers and aides bolt, many on Capitol Hill fear it could lead to a brain drain just as Congress tackles a slew of weighty issues — like fights over the Tax Code and immigration reform.

A “brain drain?” These are the people who either passed the law or were unable to mount enough opposition to stop it. We could do without their brains being anywhere near power of any kind. Take this genius, for example.

Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat in leadership when the law passed, said he thinks the problem will be resolved.

“If [it isn’t fixed for our masters in Washington], I think we should begin an immediate amicus brief to say, ‘Listen this is simply not fair to these employees,’” Larson told POLITICO. “They are federal employees.”

Big. Fat. Hairy. Deal. Why should federal employees not live under the laws the rest of us have to live under? Are they better than us? Do they really deserve subsidies and benefits that the rest of us don’t get to access? What’s the “fairness” here?

It sounds like ObamaCare is so bad it may drive many in the political class out of the political class. That’s probably ObamaCare’s only redeeming quality, and it’s the only thing in that monstrosity that must stay if the rest of it stays.