This is precisely the point. In essence - the new Healthcare Law creates absolute confusion if members of Congress currently have health insurance? Literally. The law apparently bars members of Congress from the federal employees health program, on the assumption that lawmakers should join many of their constituents in getting coverage through new state-based markets (known as insurance exchanges). The bill was amended in the Senate to make sure members and staff are in the system they created for the rest of us. Now there is confusion about whether or not they have coverage until the new exchanges actually start.... in 2014. A 13-page memo from the Congressional Research Service reaches no conclusion. There are over 700 employees at the Congressional Research Service and it took them 13 pages to provide this answer. In other words, theoretically the law kicks them out of the federal health plan now in order to force them to join insurance exchanges ? that don?t yet exist. The facts are - the bill is very poorly drafted. The Senate Bill (which is now the law) was never intended to go into law as is. The plan all along was to merge the House and Senate measure into a cleaned up final version. The Senate Bill was was simply a cut and pasted wheeler dealer draft to garner 60 votes prior to Scott Brown's election. There will indeed be more nuggets such as this to follow. There is also no "severability" clause. This may or may not matter? But I'm guessing some in the White House wish it was in there. If one single provision is declared unconstitutional, the entire law can be tossed. Time will tell. In the meantime, my gut tells me Congress will find a way to take of themselves prior to 2014.
, but I still don't know what the heck it means...Somebody didn't read the bill! It's not a major issue, it's just a little bit of egg on the face of those that authored the bill.
