The Obamacare statute states very clearly that all members of Congress and their staffs are to procure their health insurance through the Obamacare exchange. Just as clearly, it does not reconstitute government support of their present coverage under the separate Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) as payment toward the exchange.

Furthermore, no ordinary American at that income level buying on the exchange would receive any government subsidy, much less one worth approximately $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for a family, as under the rule for Congress only. This bailout simply has been pulled out of thin air under intense and, sadly, bipartisan political pressure.

The provision of the special rule that allows individual members of Congress to define what staff is pushed to the Obamacare Exchange is particularly offensive and obnoxious. It’s obviously intended to allow for a significant portion of congressional staff, like leadership staff, to be exempted from having to deal with the Obamacare Exchange, notwithstanding the whopping subsidy that the rule creates.