Four Republicans have joined Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the latest attempt to extend health care subsidies benefiting millions of Americans that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Enough House members signed a petition Wednesday to bring the measure to expand the subsidies to a vote, but that is not yet scheduled. Even if the House approves the measure, its future in the Senate is uncertain.
Lawmakers also may not act quickly enough to avoid expiring subsidies and accompanying premium increases for millions of people.
Without subsidies, insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, could more than double.
Moderate Republicans have signed a so-called discharge petition, which, with enough support, allows members to bring the measure to a full vote.
The House could now be forced to vote soon on a measure that would extend Covid-era subsidies for another three years.
However, with the House going into holiday recess on Thursday and lawmakers not returning until the new year, it is likely that any vote on extending the subsidies will take place after they officially expire.
On Wednesday, the House passed a Republican-backed health care measure that did not include subsidies. It aims to lower premiums for some people and raise them for others starting in 2027, and would expand access to health plan associations, where self-employed people and small businesses can join together to purchase group insurance. This bill now goes to the Senate.
Democrats were united in voting against the law and insisting that the subsidies be extended.
All Democrats signed the dismissal petition to force a vote on the subsidies, along with four Republicans – Ryan McKenzie of Pennsylvania, Rob Bresnahan and Brian Fitzpatrick, and Mike Lawler of New York.
A group of Republicans said they do not support an extension. Some said they would rather support some kind of extension than watch the subsidies expire.
“Our only request was for a vote on this compromise to ensure that the voice of the American people is heard on this issue,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
“As I have stated many times before, the only policy worse than a pure three-year extension with no reforms is a policy of full expiration without any bridges,” he further said.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said there would be no vote on the subsidies because Republicans could not agree on how best to extend them. Johnson wanted any extension to be offset by spending cuts.
But 24 hours later, moderate Republicans, many of whom face tough re-election fights in November, overtook Johnson.
If the bill passes the House, it will move to the Senate, where it currently has some Republican support, but not enough to pass.
Asked when the Senate would vote on a three-year extension, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday: “We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
If the subsidies expire, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that there would be an average of 3.8 million more uninsured people each year, and health insurance premiums would more than double by millions.
Correction, Dec. 17: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the House was expected to vote on extending health care subsidies Wednesday night. This has been updated to say a vote has not yet been scheduled.
