Thursday is the deadline for members of Congress to designate which of their staff is “official” — and therefore required to purchase health insurance through the Obamacare insurance marketplace run by the District of Columbia.
A provision in the Affordable Care Act mandated that members and their staff to sign up for coverage on the marketplace, rather than continue to receive employer insurance through the federal government. A memo from the Office of Personnel Management said that members could decide who on their staff is “official” (and must therefore go onto the marketplace) and who is not (and can continue to receive regular employer insurance).
Some members, such as Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), plan to let their staff take advantage of the loophole and keep their existing coverage. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is reportedly planning to do the same.
Others, including Senate Republican leadership, have said that they’ll send their employees to the marketplace.
Either way, staff will still be able to receive employer insurance contributions from the federal government to help them pay for coverage.
TPM obtained a copy of the form that members must submit by 5 p.m. Thursday. Here’s the big line, above the exempted employees’ names: “I hereby designate that the employees named below… ARE NOT employees of my ‘official office.'”
Obamacare ‘Official Staff’ Designation For Members Of Congress.pdf by tpmdocs
