Survey: Obamacare worries Hill aides (Congressional staffers claim they will quit)

politico ^ | 1/13/14 | SEUNG MIN KIM

[dennisw]

A vast majority of top congressional aides say in a new survey that they are concerned about the effects of Obamacare on their staff, ticking off worries about changes to their benefits, higher costs and whether they’ll have access to local health care providers.

Ninety percent of staffers surveyed for a report released Monday by the Congressional Management Foundation said they are concerned about benefit changes under the health care law, while 86 percent are anxious about the financial hit and 79 percent cited worries to access.

Only about 35 percent of staffers said they have a “good understanding” of the changes to their health care plan under Obamacare, according to the survey. Under the health care law, all members of Congress and most congressional aides were required to enroll in the exchanges instead of staying on their federal health care plan.

“The elimination of staff’s traditional health care has been a complete disaster,” one aide said in the survey. “If you wanted a legislative branch run by K Street lobbyists and 25-year-old staffers, mission accomplished.”

Another staffer in the survey was diagnosed with breast cancer in September and was hit with changes in health care coverage in the middle of radiation treatments, according to the report.

“Getting insured through the D.C. exchange is not helpful – my choices are very limited and costs are high,” the staffer said. “As a result, I’ve gone on my husband’s plan. My staff don’t necessarily have that option.”

Of the 163 aides who participated in the survey — which included House and Senate chiefs of staff, House district directors and Senate state directors — 79 percent said it was likely that the health care changes could contribute to staff exits. Fifty-two percent of those who responded worked in a Democratic office, while 48 percent were from GOP offices. The response rate for the survey was 15 percent.

“When you freeze salaries, eliminate bonuses and change their health care benefits, it’s folly to think that it’s not going to have an impact on the workforce,” said Bradford Fitch, the president and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation.

Unless they work in a leadership or committee office, congressional staffers must enroll in the Obamacare exchange. But some offices voluntarily left their federal health benefits program. An example is House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who required all of her aides to enroll under Obamacare although her leadership aides could have kept their existing plans.

The matter of Obamacare benefits for lawmakers and staff has been a political football on Capitol Hill, particularly as Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) loudly pressed for months to get rid of those generous contributions.

And the issue is going to court – Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is now suing the Office of Personnel Management over its decision to allow the federal government to continue providing contributions to health care plans for lawmakers and aides.

“The move by some members to eliminate the employer contribution has also not been well-received,” one staffer said in the Congressional Management Foundation survey. “Everyone felt as if we were pawns in this political argument.”

[onyx]

B T T T ! ! ! ©

[freekitty]

So quit; but don’t expect your sky high benefits and perks. We ain’t paying for them. Besides, they won’t quit. What they say in public is not what they do in private.