House poised to approve 3-year Affordable Care Act tax credit extension

Washington- The House is poised to approve Thursday a three-year extension of health care tax credits that Congress let expire late last year, with a growing number of Republicans poised to join Democrats in supporting the measure.

GOP members who revolted against GOP leadership to join Democrats in forcing a vote on the issue are expected to propel the measure to passage in the lower house Thursday afternoon. The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form, but some lawmakers have said it could serve as a starting point for a broader compromise.

“Later today, House Democrats, joined by some of our Republican colleagues in a bipartisan coalition, will propose legislation to expand the Affordable Care Act tax credits to prevent millions of ordinary Americans from experiencing dramatic increases in premiums, co-pays and deductibles,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a news conference.

In a procedural vote Wednesday, nine Republicans voted with all Democrats to advance the measure. — more than the four who crossed the aisle last month. Eleven Republicans supported it in Thursday’s procedural vote before final passage.

The Affordable Care Act provides tax credits for subsidized premiums for millions of Americans with coverage on state-run exchanges. An analysis revealed that premiums had to double without the enhanced credits.

Their extension was in the center of government shutdownwhich lasted from October to November to become the longest in history. After a handful of Democratic senators split with their party to end the shutdown without securing an extension of the enhanced tax credits, House Democrats continued their own efforts — but needed support from the Republican Party to succeed.

Jeffries, a New York Democrat, led the effort to force the vote by filing a discharge petition in the final weeks of the year. Moderate Republicans have generally criticized an outright extension of tax credits without reforms. But four members of the Republican Party signed the petition, arguing that extending the tax credits without reform was more favorable than letting them expire.

Rep. Mike Lawler of New York was one of four Republicans who signed the petition last month, along with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania.

“We worked through a bipartisan post-shutdown negotiation to come to a compromise bill that would extend the grants, but put in place the necessary reforms,” Lawler told reporters Tuesday. “Unfortunately, we were unable to get a vote on this before Christmas and so the only alternative was to sign the three-year waiver.”

Moderate Republicans are counting on the measure as a vehicle for a compromise bill in the Senate.

“I hope that when we pass the discharge in the House, the Senate will be able to use that vehicle and gain enough support to get bipartisan compromise to the finish line,” Lawler said.

The search for a compromise in the Senate

A number of moderate Democrats and Republicans in both chambers are seeking a solution on health care costs. And the discharge petition added momentum to a bipartisan effort to reach a compromise on health care before lawmakers take their December recess. Now, lawmakers expect the Senate to move forward with a long-sought deal to extend the appropriations, with some reforms.

The Senate last month rejected a Democratic-led attempt to pass a three-year extension of the enhanced tax credits. Republicans proposed an alternative plan to send funds directly to consumers through health savings accounts, which also fell short. But a number of Republican senators have expressed a willingness to reach a compromise.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who participated in the discussions, told reporters Tuesday that “we continue to work hard” on a compromise measure. She said parts of the measure would be similar to what she and Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, initially proposed last month. This plan would extend the tax credits for two years, with some reforms in the first year, then “more substantial reforms” in the second.

Moreno outlined the emerging deal on Thursday, telling reporters it would include a two-year extension of enhanced tax credits and an extension of the open enrollment period until March 1. It would also impose a new income eligibility cap for grants at 700 percent of the federal poverty level; a minimum premium of $5 per month or $60 per year; and fining insurance companies $100,000 “for willfully causing fraud” by enrolling someone without their consent. In the second year, the plan would give individuals the option to choose a lower-tier plan and receive the funds in a health savings account.

Emerging from a bicameral meeting of so-called “problem solvers” on Thursday, several lawmakers said they expected the text of the compromise bill to be released next week.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, asked about the timeline for addressing tax credits in the upper chamber, told reporters Wednesday that conversations among the bipartisan group of lawmakers have been productive and “we’ll see where the discussions go.”

“There are some thorny issues they need to resolve,” the South Dakota Republican said. “You have to take care of reforms, you have to take care of a bridge to an HSA, and obviously Hyde is a very big challenge.”

President Trump encouraged congressional Republicans to show “flexibility” on the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortion, in order to find a solution on health care costs. But congressional conservatives have not expressed willingness to move forward on the issue, seeking an additional Hyde Amendment within the health care bill to ensure it applies to coverage on state-run exchanges.

“There is no flexibility. You either use public funds to fund abortion or you don’t. We’re not sure there’s a compromise available on this,” Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who leads the House Freedom Caucus, told reporters Wednesday.

Thune said that although Collins and Moreno were trying to resolve the difficult issues, there was no “landing point” yet.

“The conversations are constructive,” he added. “But at this point, to my knowledge, there’s nothing that we’re going to vote on anytime soon.”