The U.S. Senate failed to pass two separate plans from Democrats and Republicans Thursday that were presented as solutions to the ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of December.<\/p>\n
With no solution millions of Americans, including thousands of Alabamians, are set to lose healthcare or see their premiums double in January.<\/p>\n
Both of Alabama\u2019s senators, Katie Britt<\/a> and Tommy Tuberville<\/a>, voted in favor of the Republican plan and against the Democrat plan.<\/p>\n Britt put out a statement denouncing the vote on the Democrat health care plan as, \u201cpolitical theater.\u201d The vote was promised to Democrats as part of the deal to end the government shutdown which Britt was credited for playing an important role in.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we saw today from Democrats\u2019 health care vote was pure political theater,\u201d Britt said. \u201cTheir plan props up a broken, UNAFFORDABLE system that\u2019s wrought with fraud and failing the Alabamians who truly need it, all while extending COVID-era subsidies with no income caps.\u201d<\/p>\n According to ABC News<\/a>, the Republican plan would have ended the ACA subsidies and, \u201cinstead take the extra money from those tax credits and put it into health savings accounts for those who purchase bronze-level or \u201ccatastrophic\u201d plans on the ACA exchanges.\u201d<\/p>\n The Democrat plan intended to extend the existing ACA tax credits by three years.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump, Britt and other Republicans have previously said that they would not be in favor of a plan that extends the subsidies<\/a> without any reforms. <\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, blamed \u201cRepublican failure\u201d for the tax credits likely expiring.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a matter of days, Republican failure will cause roughly 130,000 Alabamians to lose health care coverage,\u201d Sewell said. \u201cMany will find themselves one diagnosis away from bankruptcy. Once again, Trump and Republicans have proven themselves utterly incapable of addressing our nation\u2019s affordability crisis. The American people deserve better.\u201d <\/p>\n