With the Senate failing to pass either the Democrats bill to simply extend the enhanced tax credits by 3 more years or the Republicans bill to make everything worse yesterday, all eyes turn to the House, where something like a dozen different bills, some with bipartisan support, some not, have been thrown against the wall to see if anything might stick.
Now, it looks like one of them might actually get a floor vote next week...but only as an amendment to another healthcare bill package being pushed by GOP House leadership, which of course raises all sorts of red flags.
NEWS: Speaker JOHNSON & House GOP leaders are leaning toward giving mods a FLOOR VOTE on a bill extending enhanced ACA subsidies next week
Vote would be on FITZPATRICK bill as an amendment toOP leadership's health package JOHNSON told huddle of mods on the floor earlier he'd support amendment vote & could do it WITHOUT adding abortion funding restrictions.
Hot on the heels of Republican Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana & Mike Crapo of Idaho presenting their so-called "Health Care Freedom for Patients Act" which would do almost nothing to actually help ACA enrollees while causing more harm to transgender individuals (of course) and undocumented immigrants (of course), at least two more "The clock is ticking, we have to come up with SOMETHING!" bills have been rolled out today by Congressional Republicans.
Washington, DC -Today, Congressman Van Drew joined a bipartisan coalition of House members calling for a short-term extension of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) tax credits with targeted modifications of the system. The group also sent a letter to House and Senate leadership asking for a meeting to discuss a clear path forward for health insurance.
Scoop: Senate GOP chairs circulate health plan as clock ticks on ACA subsidies
Two key Senate Republican chairmen are circulating the outline of a health care plan to Republican offices ahead of a crucial week that could decide the fate of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, multiple sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: The plan from Finance Committee chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and health committee chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) does not extend the tax credits past their expiration at year's end, instead providing funds to enrollees in health savings accounts, according to a summary obtained by Axios.
It's not the only GOP plan that's been floated in recent days as Republicans struggle to unite around health care policies.
Yesterday, Politico reported that the Trump 2/3 White House was planning on rolling out his own counterproposal to Democrats demand that the enhanced ACA tax credits (which are still scheduled to expire just 36 days from now) be extended (preferably permanently, but at the bare minimum by at least a few years).
According to the Politico story, the Trump proposal supposedly included the following provisions:
Via Politico this morning, a mixed bag of good & bad news on the enhanced ACA tax credit saga today:
The White House expects to soon unveil a health policy framework that includes a two-year extension of Obamacare subsidies due to expire at the end of next month and new limits on eligibility, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the unannounced plans.
...The White House plan is expected to include new income caps for enrollees to qualify for the ACA tax credits as well as minimum premium payments, according to the two people with direct knowledge of the proposal.
The planned eligibility cap would limit the subsidies to individuals with income up to 700 percent of the federal poverty line — aligning with what a bipartisan group of senators have been discussing separately, according to a fourth person granted anonymity to share knowledge of the negotiations.
I was up to my ears in data crunching over the entire weekend working on my deep dive into the 14 states with Premium Alignment pricing in place for 2026, so I haven't had a chance to chime in on Sunday evening's Continuing Resolution vote in the U.S. Senate until now.
After enough of them held out for 40 days and 14 votes (I think) to prevent the House Republican version of the CR bill from passing & the federal government from re-opening, 7 Democratic Senators and 1 Dem-caucusing Independent finally agreed to vote for a modified Senate version of the bill...none of whom, by what I'm sure is sheer coincidence, are up for re-election next year (2 are retiring; the other 6 aren't up again until either 2028 or 2030, and one of them will likely retire before then anyway).
More congressional Republicans are saying they could support a limited extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies — but only as part of a wider deal and with possible new limits to the assistance.
Why it matters: Democrats are pushing for a clean extension, but the more realistic path, if there's one at all, is a short-term extension that includes conservative health policies.
What they're saying: "How many clean extensions have you seen of late?" said Sen. Thom Tillis, who began pushing for a subsidy extension in the spring. He added that he didn't know what the contours of a deal could look like.
...Changes that could make an extension more palatable for Republicans include limiting the subsidies for higher-income enrollees or requiring that all enrollees pay at least some cost-sharing or premiums.
Covered California expresses deep concern regarding the proposed health provisions in the reconciliation bill moving through the House of Representatives.
If enacted, the legislation would have devastating consequences to the health, well-being and financial security of hundreds of thousands of Californians who would lose access to affordable health insurance. It would also lead to greater strain on the health care system and increased costs for individuals and businesses throughout the state.
Back in June, I ran a state-by-state analysis which provided estimates of just how much various households would see their net individual market premiums jump starting in 2026 if the upgraded financial subsidies originally included in the American Rescue Plan Act (and later extended by the Inflation Reduction Act) are allowed to expire at the end of 2025, as is currently scheduled to happen without legislative action.
Action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever.
So let me be clear: If the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment. My actions will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change. I will not back down: The opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent.
