Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternative

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) promotes Democratic plan to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies (Image credit: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

The Senate Thursday failed to pass competing plans to prevent a sharp rise in costs for people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act when subsidies expire at the end of the year. The Democratic proposal to extend the subsidies for three years and a Republican alternative each drew a bare majority of 51 votes, but 60 votes were needed to advance under the Senate’s filibuster rule. A handful of Republicans voted for both plans.

Who said what

The dueling votes marked an “unceremonious end to a monthslong effort by Democrats” to extend the subsidies while Republicans “struggled to find an alternative,” The Associated Press said. Senate Republicans “eventually settled on” funneling up to $1,500 into health savings accounts for ACA customers who opt for a “lower-cost, higher deductible bronze or catastrophic health insurance plan.” That money could be spent on out-of-pocket health care expenses but not premiums.

The “stakes for American families are considerable,” but the “political stakes are also vast,” Politico said. For many Republicans, the “pressure posed by the subsidy cliff is rivaled by the anxiety they are feeling about the approaching midterms,” but “that sense of panic has not trickled up to Republican leaders, who appear ready to send lawmakers home next week until Jan. 6.” After “today’s vote,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, the “American health care crisis is 100% on their shoulders.”

What next?

Hope is “fading for any deal to extend the subsidies before the end of the year, if at all,” The Wall Street Journal said. The “next major legislative deadline is Jan. 30, when lawmakers need to pass a new bill funding the government.”

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.