Members of Congress and their staff are exempt from the income limits for Obamacare subsidies that apply to everyone else
Most people are eligible for Obamacare subsidies only if their income is no more than 400% of the poverty level. For a family of four, 400% of the poverty level is $94,200. A family of four with income higher than that amount it not eligible for an Obamacare subsidy.
However, members of Congress and their staff are exempt from this limit. Members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year. Because of their special exemption, a middle aged member of Congress who is married and has children, will get a special Obamacare subsidy of $10,000.
These subsidies for members of Congress and their staff are illegal. The New York Times wrote of this:
… the language of the health care law requires Congressional employees to obtain health insurance through an exchange created by the law, but other parts of the federal legal code restrict the ability of the federal government to pay the usual employer share for group insurance programs approved by the Office of Personnel Management.
A straightforward reading of the law thus means that Congressional staff members, starting in January 2014, will have to obtain insurance through the Affordable Care Act but pay for it on their own without the normal contribution from their employer — Congress. This would be a multi-thousand-dollar income hit for those affected… many… would potentially feel the pain, giving rise to concerns over a potential brain drain of Congressional staff members finding other employment.
… the federal personnel office initially ruled that Congressional staff members would not be eligible for the subsidies, and then changed this decision under pressure from the White House…