D.G.: Really? Your employer doesn't offer a healthcare plan? Sorry to hear that. Pretty much all my friends who have full-time jobs get healthcare through their employer, so aren't on the exchanges.
Me: All health plans are subject to obamacare provisions.
D.G.: Then in what sense is the Federal Employee plan not?
Me: Congress exempted themselves from many of the provisions imposed by obamacare. http://www.nationalreview.com/...#!
John Fund - Congress’s Exemption from Obamacare
D.G.: Obamacare doesn't require full-time workers to move onto the exchanges; in fact, it was explicitly based on the idea that employers should continue to provide healthcare for full-time employees, and have to pay a penalty if they don't.
Republicans added an explicit proviso that treats Congress /more restrictively/ than other employees, by requiring them to go on the exchanges even though their employer offers its own health plan.
Basically, Vitter is trying to force a big Congressional paycut. He's saying that not only should Congress be forbidden from using their employer-provided plan, they should also lose a major benefit that is part of their compensation package.
I know Congress is unpopular; I'm not particularly happy with them either. But if you want to cut Congressional pay, do it directly; don't try to claim that you're eliminating some kind of special privilege.
Me: As I said, all health insurance plans must now conform to obamacare provisions. The reason for the exchanges is to obtain a subsidy, which are not available from the non-exchange policies.
As to what employers will do, many employers of less than 50 employees are already doing a defacto move to the exchanges by discontinuing their health plans.
Me: http://www.breitbart.com/...
Mandates Force D.C. Small Businesses into Government Healthcare Exchange
D.G.: So is your objection to the fact that Federal employees have insurance? Or if ACA hadn't been amended to move Congress to the exchanges, and Congress were simply treated like all other Federal employees, would you be okay with that?
Me: "Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has demanded a floor vote on his bill to end an exemption that members of Congress and their staffs are slated to get that will make them the only participants in the new Obamacare exchanges to receive generous subsidies from their employer to pay for their health insurance."
Me: Why should they get nearly free healthcare and we don't?
D.G.: Why should they get paid a salary by the Federal Government and we don't? Because they're Federal employees!
If you think Federal employee benefits are too generous, then make that case. If you think that Congress should get worse healthcare benefits than other Federal employees, then make that case.
But Republicans are the ones who pushed a rule in the first place that said that Congress had to be treated differently from any other person with an employer-provided health plan
Me: Obamacare is the law of the land, but certain groups are exempted or get special treatment. What other special treatment do you think people should get? Should some people be exempt from theft or murder? If the rules don't apply to everyone, they should not apply at all. Thus my exemption pass.
D.G.: In what sense are they exempt from the law of the land? The law of the land--an amendment which Republicans proposed, no less--is that Congress should get healthcare through the exchanges. Another law of the land is that the Federal government pays for Federal employees' healthcare.
Now, you say that combining those two laws gives you a stupid result, I completely agree. Congress should have just been treated like any other employee, and allowed to receive employer benefits. But the Republicans insisted on passing a special provision for Congress, so we have the stupid result that we do.
Me: You've just made my case. They've insulated themselves from the effect of the law by paying the cost of it. That is, we pay the cost of ours and theirs.
D.G.: Because they're our employees. I still haven't heard you answer why you think that Congress shouldn't receive the same health benefits as all other Federal workers.
Me: I didn't hire 'em.
D.G.: lol okay
Me: "Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has demanded a floor vote on his bill to end an exemption that members of Congress and their staffs are slated to get that will make them the only participants in the new Obamacare exchanges to receive generous subsidies from their employer to pay for their health insurance."
Me: Why should they get nearly free healthcare and we don't?
D.G.: Why should they get paid a salary by the Federal Government and we don't? Because they're Federal employees!
If you think Federal employee benefits are too generous, then make that case. If you think that Congress should get worse healthcare benefits than other Federal employees, then make that case.
But Republicans are the ones who pushed a rule in the first place that said that Congress had to be treated differently from any other person with an employer-provided health plan
Me: Obamacare is the law of the land, but certain groups are exempted or get special treatment. What other special treatment do you think people should get? Should some people be exempt from theft or murder? If the rules don't apply to everyone, they should not apply at all. Thus my exemption pass.
D.G.: In what sense are they exempt from the law of the land? The law of the land--an amendment which Republicans proposed, no less--is that Congress should get healthcare through the exchanges. Another law of the land is that the Federal government pays for Federal employees' healthcare.
Now, you say that combining those two laws gives you a stupid result, I completely agree. Congress should have just been treated like any other employee, and allowed to receive employer benefits. But the Republicans insisted on passing a special provision for Congress, so we have the stupid result that we do.
Me: You've just made my case. They've insulated themselves from the effect of the law by paying the cost of it. That is, we pay the cost of ours and theirs.
D.G.: Because they're our employees. I still haven't heard you answer why you think that Congress shouldn't receive the same health benefits as all other Federal workers.
Me: I didn't hire 'em.
D.G.: lol okay
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