More Republicans are voicing support for an extension of tax credits for those who buy individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
A sampling of public statements and media reports from over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend shows Republican support slowly growing to extend the subsidies. That will be needed since Republicans have a narrow majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
The tax credits, or subsidies, make health insurance premiums more affordable for individuals. They were enhanced by the Biden administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress in 2021, allowing more Americans to buy coverage. The enhanced subsidies, which expire at the end of this year, helped enrollment in the ACA’s individual coverage, also known as Obamacare, eclipse a record 24 million Americans, boosting its popularity to all-time highs.
There remains talk in Washington about a potential two-year extension of Obamacare tax credits. California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, for example, has been doing interviews touting the two-year extension as a compromise between Democrats who want the tax credits extended permanently and Republicans who want them to go away entirely.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing for 22 million Americans to suddenly have to pay double or more for their health insurance,” Kiley said in an interview on MSNow over the weekend about his bipartisan legislative proposal with Rep. Sam Liccardo, a California Democrat.
If Congress doesn’t extend the tax credits, Americans who buy coverage via the government’s healthcare.gov exchange or other state exchanges will see a major spike in premiums — 75% or more, health insurers have said. Open enrollment began Nov. 1 and runs to Dec. 15.
“What we’ve offered is a compromise that I think appeals to Democrats and Republicans alike,” Kiley added. “It says let’s provide a two-year extension. Let’s make reforms with cost controls so that we actually do this in a fiscally responsible way and we don’t increase the deficit in the process.”
Meanwhile, additional reports say Republican leaders in the U.S. House and Senate are increasingly faced with a political dilemma as opinion polls show President Trump’s approval ratings falling further into negative territory.
Republicans who control both houses of Congress are worried they will be blamed for coming premium increases if the subsidies aren’t extended. Polls show widespread support among Republicans who want Congress to extend tax credits.
“Either they extend the subsidies and endorse Obamacare, which Republicans have long opposed, or they let the subsidies expire ahead of next year’s midterms and deal with the electoral fallout,” the Hill reported on Thanksgiving day. It pointed to another bipartisan proposal by two Republican House members – Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Jeff Hurd of Colorado – and two Democrats — Tom Suozzi of New York and Josh Gottheimer, also of New York.
An ABC news report quoted President Donald Trump as saying an extension of the subsidies “may be necessary.”
“Somebody said I want to extend it for two years. I don’t want to extend it for two years. I’d rather not extend them at all,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One last week. The ABC report then continued to say that Trump continued talking and said “some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done because the unaffordable care act has been a disaster. It’s a disaster.”
