Since the Affordable Care Act became law two years ago, 2.5 million young adults have been able to get health coverage through their family's plan. One of them is Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) daughter.
Senator Scott Brown, who won office vowing to be the 41st vote to block President Obama's health care law and who has since voted three times to repeal it, acknowledged Monday that he takes advantage of it to keep his elder daughter on his congressional health insurance plan.
"Of course I do,'' the Massachusetts Republican told the Globe.
Brown is insuring his daughter Ayla, a professional singer who is 23 years old, under a widely popular provision of the law requiring that family plans cover children up to age 26.
Brown's younger daughter is 21 and getting ready to graduate from college, and she, too, will be able to be covered thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
Brown, in case this wasn't obvious, opposes "Obamacare" and has already voted to repeal the landmark reform law in its entirety. The senator hasn't made any exceptions, and continues to support eliminating all of the protections in the law -- including the provision that allows young adults up to age 26 to get coverage by staying on their parents' plans.
For the Republican senator, this isn't necessarily hypocrisy. Brown's voted to take this benefit away from millions of families, but he's glad to have this benefit in place for his own family.
And what happens if Brown succeeds and the law is eliminated? The senator's family doesn't have much to worry about -- Brown and his wife made over a half-million dollars last year, and they're in a position to help their adult kids pay for insurance and medical expenses.
Whether Brown understands this or not, the larger problem is everyone else.
Since 99% of American households make far less than the senator and his wife, if Brown and his party are successful, young adults will once again find themselves without coverage.
As the Republican lawmaker sees it, there's no reason to worry -- states might consider passing similar measures and protections if "Obamacare" is destroyed, which he thinks would solve the problem. But if your state is dominated by Republican policymakers and chooses not to take this step? From Brown's perspective, you're out of luck. Maybe you should have picked a better state (or wealthier parents).
Remember, this is what passes for GOP moderation on health care policy -- a confused senator who hates the Affordable Care Act, despite not knowing why, who wants to benefit from the law he thinks he finds offensive, while taking those benefits away from everyone else.