Health Care Maneuvering

Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wants Chairman Edolphus Towns to assert some jurisdiction over the health care reform legislation introduced by House Democrats, H.R. 3200. The grounds? Issa writes in a letter to Towns:

H.R. 3200 requires all individuals to have a government-determined minimum level of health insurance. To be in compliance, every individual must obtain coverage through enrollment in a "qualified health benefits plan or other acceptable coverage," or, if not enrolled in a "qualified health benefits plan or other acceptable coverage," through the Health Insurance Exchange. However, it is not clear from the legislation if FEHBP is a "qualified health benefits plan," or if federal employees and their dependants who are enrolled in FEHBP would be in compliance...any changes to the program or its operation by the Office of Personnel Management could have serious costs and consequences for the federal government and federal employees. This legislation should not move forward until we know its effect on our federal employees. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is uniquely positioned to examine this legislation to get a broad view of how it will affect federal employees.

To me, this sounds like a question that could be answered through a simple informational request to the bill's drafters and to OPM itself. But by asking the committee to hold hearings, Issa's trying to get the bill in front of a committee that has a number of aggressive Republicans, Issa most definitely included. It's a smart bit of politics, framing the letter as a request for Towns not to give up jurisdiction on an issue the committee doesn't have primary jurisdiction over in the first place.