Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee are sharing a proposed law that would imitate President Donald Trump’s suggestion to reroute health insurance financial aid straight to individuals, according to Politico.
The move increases the likelihood that the GOP doubles down on Trump’s stance that rather than have COVID-era Obamacare subsidies extended, helping to keep down the cost of many insurance premiums, resources should instead be sent to individuals to use for their own healthcare.
A person granted anonymity to share direct knowledge of the plans told Politico that The Ways and Means Committee may put forward legislation that would correspond with the president’s demands to reroute insurance subsidies to enrollees in Obamacare.
The proposed legislation, which Representatives Kat Cammack and Greg Steube, both Republicans from Florida, had presented earlier, would offer those enrolled in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance exchanges the option to select receiving a portion of financial support from insurers directly into their health savings accounts (HSA), which have tax advantages.
The proposed law is designed to help Congress incorporate Trump’s recent appeals on social media for congressional Republicans to reroute the “Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies” and forward them “directly to the people”.
The subsidies that are nearing expiration were central to the partisan disagreement over government funding that led to the shutdown.
Some moderate Republicans prefer to cooperate with Democrats on a plan that would combine an Obamacare subsidy prolongation with some of the new restrictions sought by conservatives, however a proposed law favoring Trump’s strategy could undermine their talks.
In a connected development, Senate Finance Republicans have requested that Brian Blase, a primary opponent of the Obamacare subsidies, provide testimony at a Wednesday session concerning the rising expense of health care.
Blase, who leads the Paragon Health Institute, was the designer of the dramatic Medicaid cuts implemented as part of the Republican megabill signed into law during the summer.
Senate Finance has also invited Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the president of the conservative American Action Forum, to testify at the hearing. The individuals testifying on behalf of the Democrats include a health care expert and an individual who would be personally impacted by the expiration of the financial aid.
While Senate Democrats received assurance of a Senate floor vote on legislation to prolong the subsidies in mid-December, Speaker Mike Johnson has provided no promise of action before the December 31 expiration date.