WASHINGTON \u2014 Top Senate Republicans indicated this week they\u2019d be open to extending one of former President Joe Biden\u2019s signature health care policies to avoid a politically poisonous spike in insurance costs ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. <\/p>\n
The enhanced premium tax credits, which Democrats included in President Joe Biden\u2019s American Rescue Plan Act, reduced the cost of health insurance for many middle-class people enrolled in Obamacare exchanges. The average person who buys insurance through the exchanges is expected to pay 75% more for their premium if the tax credits expire, according to an analysis<\/a> from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group.<\/p>\n The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has also projected that letting the subsidies lapse would lead to about 5 million Americans losing their insurance over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n \u201cI am part of a small group that is looking to try to find a path forward to extend those,\u201d said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). \u201cI think it is recognized that our failure to do that could result in some pretty precipitous increases in costs for Americans for their health insurance, and that\u2019s not where we want to end up at the end of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not these people\u2019s fault that they\u2019re forced onto Obamacare in the first place and then to take away what the government promised them in terms of this credit, seems to me to be not exactly the most desirable outcome,\u201d added Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).<\/p>\n The looming expiration of the tax credits was put on the back burner by Republicans during the first six months of President Donald Trump\u2019s term as the party focused on passing his agenda of tax cuts and historic cuts to Medicaid, as well as slashing foreign aid and public broadcasting funding.<\/p>\n Discussions are now underway in the Senate for a bipartisan solution to a problem that could have serious ramifications for the GOP in next year\u2019s elections, with high prices and inflation still on top of voters\u2019 minds. They are being led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the chair of the Senate health committee, who has previously criticized<\/a> the credits, but who is also facing voters at the ballot box next year. <\/p>\n Passing a bipartisan fix is easier said than done, however. For one, it\u2019ll be costly. An estimate<\/a> from CBO said it would cost $380 billion over a decade to make the subsidies permanent. Senate Republicans are eyeing a smaller fix of about $125 billion with a lower income threshold to qualify for the credit, as well as an offset to pay for it. <\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ll be able to offer an appropriate offset, and I think it would be very difficult for Democrats to be able to say no to that,\u201d Rounds said. <\/p>\n Many conservatives are flat-out opposed to extending the tax credits, however. Some are pushing for rolling back Obamacare more broadly, including by winding down its Medicaid expansion, in future reconciliation bills. <\/p>\n \u201cNobody\u2019s losing coverage, that\u2019s what\u2019s important to me,\u201d Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said when asked what Congress ought to do when the tax credits expire. <\/p>\n Even if the Senate can agree on a fix \u2014 something that would require 60 votes \u2014 passage could be more complicated in the GOP-controlled House, where there\u2019s no guarantee that leadership would even take it up. Lawmakers could potentially tuck it into an end-of-the-year government funding bill, but that could also risk a government shutdown. <\/p>\n \u201cI think that goes to the end of the calendar year, so we\u2019ll have discussion about the issue later. But it hasn\u2019t come up yet. But it\u2019s on the radar,\u201d House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told<\/a> reporters this week when asked about the ACA credits.<\/p>\n Waiting until the end of the year to address the issue may be too late, however. While the tax credits technically expire on Dec. 31, insurers must file their final rates for health plans offered on ACA exchanges for next year by Aug. 13, according<\/a> to the centrist think tank Third Way. That\u2019s smack-dab in the middle of Congress\u2019 annual recess. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear where the White House stands on the issue. Getting Trump on board with extending the subsidies could help move Republican votes on Capitol Hill. A memo from a conservative advocacy organization, for example, warned<\/a> this week that the benefits of the president\u2019s tax cut law will be nullified if the subsidies are not extended and people\u2019s health care costs go up.<\/p>\n Not extending the subsidies will also hand Democrats \u2014 who are already eager to run against Trump\u2019s cuts to Medicaid \u2014 a further advantage on health care issues, particularly in purple battleground states that could determine the control of the House and Senate next year. <\/p>\n 20 Years OfFreeJournalism<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 \u2014 we can’t do this without you.<\/p>\n We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n Thank you again for your support along the way. 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