After pledging no negotiations, Republicans make an Obamacare proposal.
Hey, Guess What. Republicans Negotiate!
The Wall Street Journal reports Republicans Pitch Alternative to ACA Extension to End Government Shutdown
Senate Republicans have made what amounts to a counteroffer in a bid to end the government shutdown, proposing that some healthcare funding be provided directly to households rather than be used to pay for a one-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The leading GOP proposal involves sending federal money into flexible-spending accounts instead of to insurance companies. The money could be used to cover deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs, which Republicans see as a way to give consumers more choice and control healthcare inflation.
“Let’s just move beyond our trench line, and let’s actually think creatively,” said Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bill Cassidy (R., La.), the proponent of the leading idea, on the Senate floor Saturday. “And can we give just a little bit to find something which actually benefits the patient but may also get us out of this situation?”
Republicans had previously said there would be no negotiations until Democrats ended their blockade, but the new healthcare pitch—despite many questions about how it would work and when it could be rolled out—showed the GOP could be flexible on that stance.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) has kept the Senate in session all weekend, as lawmakers see growing urgency to end the shutdown, amid growing airport snarls and delays in food aid being distributed to millions of Americans.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) rolled out the idea for a one-year extension of enhanced ACA subsidies on Friday as the price of Democratic votes to fund the government. But the idea was promptly rejected by Republicans, who said it showed Democrats were desperate. Democrats had previously proposed a permanent extension of the enhanced ACA credit, which was first introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Still, the overture looked to point to actual negotiations, and by late Friday Cassidy was pitching his idea on the floor—and drawing engagement from Democrats like Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), who took to the floor to ask about his idea.
“I think you are trying to figure out something that would get people the same amount of money to make them whole over the next year or two; is that correct?” she asked. Cassidy said “That is correct.”
President Trump then followed with a social-media message Saturday morning. “We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the healthcare they want,” he said on Truth Social.
That was viewed within the Senate as an endorsement of the sort of approach being pursued by Cassidy. Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) said in a separate post, “Totally agree,” and added: “I’m writing the bill right now.”
“Republicans are now talking about how they want to go after big insurance companies,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. “If they’re serious, I’m all in.” He said that he and Cassidy had been talking—but he also said that the idea couldn’t be implemented right away.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.) said that the president’s remarks show that Trump is backing the idea from Cassidy as well as Sen. Roger Marshall (R., Kan.), another physician who is involved in it. She said that the ideas amounted to the GOP response to the Democratic demand for a one-year ACA extension.
“This has real legs,” Lummis said. “It’s not a tennis court where only one player is on the court. I think two tennis players are on the court here, and I think it’s some of the Republican healthcare experts like Bill Cassidy and Roger Marshall, and some of theirs. So I think the ball is going to start getting hit back and forth now.”
Hoot of the Day
Countless times I was told Republicans would not cave and would not negotiate.
Well, guess who was right.
Majority Leader Thune said on Friday that Democrats were desperate. I suggested Republicans were desperate. Who was right?
What Will This Cost?
I got a tremendous amount of pushback when I said Republicans should jump on the Democrat’s one-year extension plan.
The cost of the extension program would have been a mere $35 billion. That’s the absolute best that Republicans could ever hope to come away from any deal with Democrats.
Now what? Now Republicans are proposing direct cash to consumers.
Q: Since Republicans now own the free money idea, how the hell will they ever turn it off?
A: They won’t.
The cost will be $350 billion over 10 years (if not more by the time we are done with this). Taking the Democrat’s offer would have cost a mere $35 billion.
And that would have been a genuine, first in history, one-time temporary proposal.
Democrats Offer a One-Year Obamacare Extension Deal. Should Republicans Accept?
Let’s take another look at my November 7 post Democrats Offer a One-Year Obamacare Extension Deal. Should Republicans Accept?
Decision Irony
“At some point, they’ve got to make a decision about whether or not they want to keep this going or they want to end it,” Thune said of Democrats.
Schumer’s offer reverses the setup.
How I see it: “At some point, Republicans have to make a decision about whether or not they want to hold out for 100 marbles or accept 98.”
Republicans would be crazy not to accept this offer. It’s just one year. And they can block further extensions easily.
Observation on Temporary
By definition, a one-year extension is for only one-year. Mercy me, we may have the first temporary extension of anything by Congress in history.
That’s what Republicans should latch on to. Seldom do you get a deal with Democrats that costs so little.
And it ends the blame game that Republicans were losing.
Throw Temporary Out the Window
Republicans managed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. Republicans had the ball on the opposing 1-yard line and punted.
This agreement, whatever the heck it is, will be renewed over and over because Republicans now own it.
Fundamentally, I would rather have people decide how to spend money than government spend it for them.
However, the cost of the program just soared, as I predicted all along. Kiss the chance for temporary anything goodbye.
This was too easy to see.
