Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced Tuesday that the Senate will vote Thursday on a Republican proposal aimed at replacing expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance subsidies. The decision came after Thune faced intense pressure from within his conference to advance a GOP alternative alongside the scheduled Democratic vote on extending the subsidies.
The Republican measure, championed by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), proposes replacing the enhanced ACA subsidies with federal contributions to health savings accounts (HSAs). These HSAs would be used by Americans who buy insurance on the ACA marketplace to pay out-of-pocket expenses.
Confirming the move after a Republican conference lunch meeting Tuesday, Thune told reporters: “We also will have a vote. Our members have decided that we’re going to vote on a Crapo-Cassidy proposal.”
Thune championed the proposal, asserting that the legislation would reduce health insurance premiums and save the federal government nearly $30 billion. He stated that the plan delivers benefits directly to the patient, rather than the insurance company.
Thune provided a detailed defense of the Crapo-Cassidy bill, arguing: “It actually does make health insurance premiums more affordable. It drives down, according to the Congressional Budget Office, premiums by double-digit levels. It delivers the benefit directly to the patient, not to the insurance company. And it does it in a way that actually saves money — to the taxpayer.”
The Senate was already set to vote Thursday on a Democratic plan to extend the expiring enhanced subsidies for three years, a vote Thune agreed to as part of a deal last month to reopen the government. The expiration of these subsidies in January is expected to cause double-digit premium increases for millions of Americans who rely on ACA coverage.
However, the political nature of the votes was immediately evident. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking shortly after Thune’s announcement, called the Cassidy-Crapo bill “junk insurance.” Thune, in turn, characterized the Democratic plan as political messaging designed to force GOP members to take a politically unpopular vote against the subsidies.
“The Democrats clearly don’t, which is why they’re putting up what is a show vote — it’s a messaging bill,” Thune said.
Despite the votes being scheduled, neither the Democratic bill nor the Republican alternative is expected to pick up enough support to meet the 60-vote threshold necessary for most legislation to advance in the Senate.
The Cassidy-Crapo plan was the only Republican alternative on the Senate calendar ready for a procedural vote by Tuesday morning, despite internal divisions and other proposals being offered by senators like Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and a plan from Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).