Post by rmarks1 on Jan 6, 2014 19:34:09 GMT -5
Another ripoff from the government.
Bob
WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson filed suit Monday to challenge what he called the Obama administration’s abuse of executive authority in issuing rules over how members of Congress and their staff receive coverage under the president’s signature health law.
The Republican senator’s lawsuit, filed in Wisconsin district court, seeks to overturn a rule adopted by the administration’s Office of Personnel Management to continue contributing a government subsidy to help pay the monthly healthcare premiums of members of Congress and their staff members after they enroll in plans offered through the District of Columbia’s new exchange.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, members of Congress and their staff members were no longer allowed to receive healthcare through the federal benefits system, a provision intended to shift them onto the exchanges set up for private individuals who do not receive employer-provided plans.
But the law was ambiguous about whether the lawmakers and staff would continue to receive the generous government contribution that previously subsidized their coverage. The Obama administration ruled that they would.
Johnson said at a news conference at the Capitol on Monday that the administration's rule amounts to “special treatment” for lawmakers and their staffs. He said the government subsidy gives them a tax benefit not available to ordinary Americans who do not have employer-based coverage.
www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-senator-lawsuit-obamacare-congress-support-20140106,0,1328197.story#ixzz2pfVBzHRE
The Republican senator’s lawsuit, filed in Wisconsin district court, seeks to overturn a rule adopted by the administration’s Office of Personnel Management to continue contributing a government subsidy to help pay the monthly healthcare premiums of members of Congress and their staff members after they enroll in plans offered through the District of Columbia’s new exchange.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, members of Congress and their staff members were no longer allowed to receive healthcare through the federal benefits system, a provision intended to shift them onto the exchanges set up for private individuals who do not receive employer-provided plans.
But the law was ambiguous about whether the lawmakers and staff would continue to receive the generous government contribution that previously subsidized their coverage. The Obama administration ruled that they would.
Johnson said at a news conference at the Capitol on Monday that the administration's rule amounts to “special treatment” for lawmakers and their staffs. He said the government subsidy gives them a tax benefit not available to ordinary Americans who do not have employer-based coverage.
www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-senator-lawsuit-obamacare-congress-support-20140106,0,1328197.story#ixzz2pfVBzHRE