 Health Care |
Health Care |
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Pressure mounting on GOP to extend Obamacare tax credits |
Pressure is mounting on House and Senate Republicans to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, as a number of rank-and-file Republicans push leaders to prevent the popular subsidies from expiring at the end of the year. |
© Hill Photo Illustration |
The issue is a tricky one for Republicans, who had opposed the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, unanimously in 2010, and united again against the two Biden-era laws that first created, and then extended, the enhanced tax credits for patients during the pandemic. More than 24 million Americans are enrolled in the insurance marketplace this year, and about 90 percent — more than 22 million people — are receiving enhanced subsidies. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 4.2 million people are projected to lose insurance by 2034 if the subsidies aren't renewed. The fight over the subsidies comes on the heels of another massive battle over health care: the sharp cuts to Medicaid funding in the GOP's "big, beautiful bill," which Democrats are still going on offense over and Republicans are racing to defend. Now, Democrats are seeking to dial up pressure on Republicans for a bipartisan tax credit extension. While there isn't yet a cohesive call for Democrats to vote against a spending bill without a tax credit extension, Republicans control all levers of power in Washington, and some Democrats feel the GOP would be blamed if the government shuts down. The subsidies expire at the end of the year, but Democrats said they view a stopgap funding bill as their best legislative chance. Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes in the Senate to pass the bill. But extending the subsidies even for one year would cost approximately $24 or $25 billion, and Republicans argue the cost is too great. They argue the credits hide the true cost of the health law and subsidize Americans who don't need the help. They also argue that the subsidies have been a driver of fraudulent enrollment by unscrupulous brokers seeking high commissions. |
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| How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order on Wednesday directing state agencies to ban the sale of THC products to minors, after state lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on restrictions this year. “Texas will not wait when it comes to protecting children and families,” Abbott said in a statement. “While these products would still benefit from the kind of comprehensive regulation set by the Texas … |
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The U.S. death rate has dropped to prepandemic levels as COVID-19 fell out of the top 10 leading causes of death, according to research published Wednesday. The death rate fell by 3.8 percent in 2024, with the overall rate declining from 750.5 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 722 per 100,000 last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported. This is the lowest … |
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Republicans on Capitol Hill are sounding alarms over Florida's move to end vaccine mandates for schoolchildren, voicing fears about the spread of preventable infectious diseases and what it means for their home states. The apprehensions highlight the internal GOP divide over both the public health benefits of vaccines and the powers of government at any level to require residents to obtain those inoculations in the name of … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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Fired CDC Director Susan Monarez to testify to Senate panel |
Susan Monarez, the former director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is set to testify before a Senate panel next Wednesday, Sept. 17, on the recent high-profile departures from the agency. On Tuesday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced the committee would hold the hearing "on delivering President Trump's mission to restore … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- California considers allowing doctors to mail abortion pills anonymously (NPR)
- New Mexico will be the first state to make child care free (The 19th)
- With no more vaccine mandates, who are the most at risk in Florida? (Tampa Bay Times)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Health officials hunt for cases connecting COVID shot and harm in pregnant women (The Wall Street Journal)
- Trump's Medicaid cuts were aimed at 'able-bodied adults.' Hospitals say kids will be hurt (KFF Health News)
- CDC infectious disease data project shelved (MedPage Today)
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