91% of Congressional Staffers Worried About Obamacare

A report released Monday by the Congressional Management Foundation finds that 91% of congressional senior managers reported their staffers are concerned about Obamacare-induced changes to their personal health care plans. 

Obamacare required almost all congressional staffers to give up their federal health care plans and to enroll in Obamacare. The results, say some aides, have been awful. 

“The elimination of staff’s traditional health care has been a complete disaster,” said one respondent.

Another staffer with breast cancer was forced to switch health plans while undergoing radiation treatments. 

“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.” 

A total of 163 congressional aides responded to the survey; 52% of staffers surveyed were Democrats, 48% were Republicans.

The study found that 86% of those surveyed were worried about Obamacare’s financial costs and that 79% said they were concerned switching to Obamacare may affect their access to doctors and care. 

Congressional staffers’ Obamacare concerns are but a smaller representation of the broader public’s distaste for President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul. The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls finds that just 40% of Americans now support Obamacare.