--- description: The petition says lawmakers should "commit to treating themselves just like those who will be impacted" by the repeal of Obamacare title: Petition to Strip Congress of Health Coverage Nears 500,000 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt343ab5cae6e947ad/6988bec4ab6d7729236ad417/gettyimages-652358086.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [politics](/tag/politics/) ## politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Petition to Remove Health Care Subsidies From Members of Congress Has Nearly 500,000 Signatures by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2017 3:31 AM CUT  Activists gather near Brooklyn Borough Hall on March 11, 2017, to stage a rally and symbolic "die-in" in opposition to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and its replacement by Republican-authored legislation currently under proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives Activists gather near Brooklyn Borough Hall on March 11, 2017, to stage a rally and symbolic "die-in" in opposition to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and its replacement by Republican-authored legislation currently under proposal in the U.S. House of RepresentativesAlbin Lohr-Jones—Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2017 3:31 AM CUT As discussions surrounding Obamacare’s repeal and replacement take place in Congress, one Change.org [petition](https://www.change.org/p/remove-health-care-subsidies-for-members-of-congress-and-their-families "undefined"), targeting the health care coverage lawmakers and their families currently receive, is gathering steam. “Some politicians cannot relate to the cost burden experienced by families across the nation because they’ve historically received health benefits that most Americans have not,” argues petitioner [Daniel Jimenez](http://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2017/03/portland%5Fman%5Fgathers%5Fover%5F3000.html "undefined"). He says that his father passed away from cancer because of late intervention, and the current debate over the Affordable Care Act’s replacement reminds him of “whether he would have made it if he had early access to cost-effective health care.” “I want lawmakers to commit to treating themselves just like those who will be impacted by \[Affordable Care Act\] repeal or replacement,” he continues. “A lot of Members of Congress promote choice as an American value, which is all the more reason for them to have to continue to choose their own health coverage from the free marketplace.” The Congressional Budget Office’s report this week projects that the American Health Care Act, as the GOP health care bill is known, would cause 14 million people to [lose their health-insurance coverage](http://time.com/4700051/obamacare-repeal-cbo-congressional-budget-office-analysis/ "undefined") by 2018. “If Congress is willing to drastically cut health care subsidies for most people, are they willing to have the same rules apply to them and their families?” asks Jimenez. Over 475,770 people have signed the petition at the time of writing. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4704824/petition-remove-congress-health-care-subsidies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4704824/petition-remove-congress-health-care-subsidies/"},"headline":"A Petition to Remove Health Care Subsidies From Members of Congress Has Nearly 500,000 Signatures","datePublished":"2017-03-17T03:31:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:53:48.466Z","description":"The petition says lawmakers should \"commit to treating themselves just like those who will be impacted\" by the repeal of Obamacare","url":"https://time.com/4704824/petition-remove-congress-health-care-subsidies/","keywords":["politics","Obamacare","viral","Healthcare","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt343ab5cae6e947ad/6988bec4ab6d7729236ad417/gettyimages-652358086.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt343ab5cae6e947ad/6988bec4ab6d7729236ad417/gettyimages-652358086.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Activists gathered near Brooklyn Borough Hall where the","caption":"Activists gathered near Brooklyn Borough Hall where the","creditText":"Albin Lohr-Jones—Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4704824/petition-remove-congress-health-care-subsidies/","name":"A Petition to Remove Health Care Subsidies From Members of Congress Has Nearly 500,000 Signatures"}}]}] ```