Congress’ Obamacare self-exemption OK, judge rules

A D.C. judge has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed Congress overstepped its bounds when it allowed lawmakers and staff to enroll in an Obamacare exchange set up for small employers in the nation’s capital.

Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr. said federal regulations issued by the Obama administration permitted denizens of Capitol Hill to take advantage of the insurance portal.

In 2010 Congress decided that lawmakers and staff who want insurance from their federal jobs should enter the exchanges it set up for regular Americans under the Affordable Care Act.

The administration issued regulations in 2013 that designated the D.C. small business exchange, or “SHOP,” as the go-to exchange for congressional lawmakers and staff who wanted to retain a federal employer subsidy that covers about three-quarters of their premiums.

More