Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) announced Thursday that Democrats will force Republican senators to vote next week on a three-year extension of enhanced health insurance premium subsidies that are due to expire in January.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) controls the Senate floor schedule but promised to let Democrats have a vote on a proposal to extend the health insurance subsidies as part of a deal with centrist Democrats to reopen the federal government after a 43-day shutdown.
Schumer kept his plan close to the vest earlier in the week but said Thursday he expects every Democrat to vote for a straightforward three-year extension of the subsidies, which are provided through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“Senate Democrats will introduce legislation for a clean, three-year extension of the current ACA tax credits. This is the bill, a clean three-year extension of ACA tax credits that Democrats will bring to the floor of the Senate for a vote next Thursday, and every single Democrat will support it,” Schumer announced on the floor.
He said the vote will put pressure on Senate Republicans to vote to extend the subsidies in the absence of an alternative GOP proposal to address rising health care premiums.
“Republicans have one week to decide where they stand. Vote for this bill and bring health care costs down or block this bill and send premiums skyrocketing. That’s what’s at stake when we vote next week,” he said. “It’s going to be one of the most important votes we take.”
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has circulated a proposal to convert the enhanced premium subsidies under ObamaCare into federal contributions to health savings accounts that could be used to pay out-of-pocket health care costs.
Republican senators, however, say they haven’t seen the text of Cassidy’s bill yet and predict it won’t be ready for a vote on the floor next week.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has proposed using money that has funded the enhanced ACA subsidies to set up Trump Health Freedom Accounts that could be used to pay health insurance premiums for plans outside ObamaCare’s insurance marketplace.