WASHINGTON — Top Republican leaders will allow a vote on temporarily extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies in hopes to get enough centrist lawmakers on board to support a larger health care package containing GOP priorities.
The House will vote on a bill next week that would expand association health plans and self-insurance protections as part of an effort to overhaul the health care system at large without reforming the Affordable Care Act. But after threats from centrist members last week to subvert GOP leadership, top Republicans have agreed to provide time for amendments, according to House GOP aides.
It’s not clear what an amendment will entail, but GOP aides say they expect it to include some sort of extension on the COVID-era enhanced ACA subsidies.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, filed what is known as a discharge petition earlier this week to force a vote on extending the tax credits even without leadership’s approval. The petition has already garnered bipartisan support, increasing pressure on House GOP leadership to walk back from its initial plans to let the subsidies expire at the end of this year.
Republican leaders unveiled a menu of policy options to include in the health care package during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, proposing a number of cost-sharing reduction plans to help low-income Obamacare beneficiaries afford new health care plans.
The party released text of the health care package on Friday evening. Timing of a vote is not yet clear, but GOP aides said it would be brought to the floor sometime next week.
Although centrist Republicans are being given an amendment vote, details of the ACA subsidy extension have not yet been released. It’s likely the proposal will extend the credits for two years, mirroring what Fitzpatrick proposed in his discharge petition bill.
Even with an amendment vote to satisfy centrist demands to vote on extending the subsidies, it’s not a done deal that the subsidies will be renewed. The amendment could fail on the floor if Democrats decide it’s not good enough — or if Democrats do support its passage, conservative Republicans could vote against the final package in retaliation.
The vote will come just two weeks before the enhanced Obamacare subsidies are scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, after which millions of Americans could see their health care premiums skyrocket if some sort of extension or reform is passed. The Senate held two competing votes on Wednesday to address the deadline, but neither had enough bipartisan support to overcome the filibuster.