Four Republicans join Democrats to force vote on extending healthcare subsidies
Four Republicans have joined Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives in a last-ditch effort to extend health care subsidies used by millions of Americans that will expire at the end of the year.
On Wednesday, enough House members signed a petition to bring a measure extending the subsidies to a vote, but it has not yet been scheduled. Even if the House approves the measure, its future in the Senate is uncertain.
Lawmakers, too, may not act quickly enough to avoid the expiration of subsidies and a concomitant increase in premiums for millions.
Without these subsidies, the costs of insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, could more than double.
Moderate Republicans signed what’s called a discharge petition, which, with enough support, allows members to bring measures up for a full vote.
The House will now be forced to vote in the near future on a measure extending Covid-era grants for three years.
Four Republicans – Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, as well as Mike Lawler of New York – signed the release petition along with all Democrats.
The Republican group said it did not support the extension. Some said they would rather support some sort of extension rather than see the grants expire.
“Our only request was for a floor vote on this compromise, so that the voices of the American people could be heard on this issue,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
“As I have said many times before, the only policy worse than a three-year extension with no reforms is a complete expiration policy with no bridges,” he continued.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said there would be no vote on the subsidies because Republicans couldn’t agree on the best way to extend them. Johnson wanted any extension to be offset by spending cuts.
But 24 hours later, moderate Republicans — many of whom will face tough re-election battles in November — overtook Johnson.
If the measure passes the House, it will be sent to the Senate, where it currently has some Republican support, but not enough to pass.
Asked when the Senate would vote on the three-year extension, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
If the subsidies expire, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects there will be an average of 3.8 million more uninsured people each year, on top of health insurance premiums more than doubling for millions.
Correction from December 17: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the House was scheduled to vote Wednesday evening on extending health care subsidies. This has been updated to reflect that the vote has not yet been scheduled.
