The White House has postponed the rollout of a new GOP plan on Affordable Care Act subsidies amid pushback from Republicans in Congress.
Why it matters: The issue could aggravate already frayed relationships with Hill conservatives who oppose an extension of enhanced tax credits that are due to expire at the end of the year.
- Trump is still working on a proposal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Aides said a plan rollout was never formally scheduled for Monday, even though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent teased the possibility on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
- Spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s draft proposal, according to people familiar, would put an income limit on ACA premium tax credits and eliminate $0 premium plans, which Republicans say contribute to fraud.
- People who downgrade their coverage on the ACA and buy a lower-premium plan could get access to a health savings account funded by taxpayer dollars.
Zoom in: The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that a proposal with the details that have been reported could cost about $50 billion over two years.
- But the cost could be offset if certain policy changes, like those affecting a form of ACA aid called cost-sharing reductions, are made permanent, per an email from CRFB.
Between the lines: Some Democrats who made a subsidy extension the centerpiece of the recent government shutdown fight said they are willing to negotiate with Trump and GOP lawmakers on a path forward.
- “While I have significant concerns about some of the ideas reportedly in the president’s proposal, it nonetheless represents a starting point for serious negotiations,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said in a statement.