海角大神

Among the crush of holiday health insurance shoppers, count President Obama.

Or don鈥檛.

Over the weekend, while he was vacationing in Hawaii, Mr. Obama signed up for Obamacare 鈥� although he didn鈥檛 do the actual enrolling and he doesn鈥檛 really聽need the coverage, since he gets his medical care from the military.

Here鈥檚 what happened. The president selected a less expensive 鈥渂ronze plan鈥� from the District of Columbia exchange with a monthly premium that鈥檚 under $400. He chose the plan, but his staff went in person to enroll him 鈥� though just him, not the first family.聽

Quoting an unnamed White House official, Politico reported: 鈥淟ike some Americans, the complicated nature of the president鈥檚 case required an in-person sign-up,鈥� the official said. 鈥淎s you鈥檇 expect, the president鈥檚 personal information is not readily available in the variety of government databases HealthCare.gov uses to verify identities.鈥�

The Obama sign-up was all about solidarity 鈥� to show support for the new insurance marketplaces that unofficially bear his name.

The experience didn鈥檛 go quite as smoothly for many at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Earlier this month, House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio, told reporters that he spent 鈥渢hree or four hours鈥� trying to sign up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act. His premiums will double.

When asked by a reporter why he didn鈥檛 just pay the penalty and wait a year until he鈥檚 eligible for Medicare, the speaker replied: 鈥淲ell, the thought crossed my mind. My health insurance premiums are going to double. My co-pays and deductibles triple under Obamacare. I'm thrilled to death, as you can tell.鈥�

The Affordable Care Act requires that members of Congress and most of their staffs join the District鈥檚 exchange, if they want to continue to keep receiving their employer contribution 鈥� paid for by taxpayers of course, but the idea is in keeping with many private companies that contribute to their employees鈥� health plans.

The Washington Post reported Dec. 9 that at least 55 senators of both parties are enrolling in the exchange, called DC Health Link. Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky, who is a possible presidential contender and vociferous critic of Obamacare, also enrolled in the DC exchange 聽鈥� a process that took him more than two hours, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

Speaker Boehner describes his frustrations . On Nov. 21, he entered his personal information on the exchange site and received an error message. He finally gave up and called the DC exchange鈥檚 help line.聽

In an update he notes: 鈥淭hey called back a few hours later, and after re-starting the process on the website two more times, I just heard from DC Health Link that I have been successfully enrolled.鈥� Of course, a photographer was on hand to record him sitting at his terminal.

In Washington, politics is never far from policy, especially when it comes to Obamacare.