UPDATED: Jan. 8 at 5:45 p.m. ET
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years, with 17 Republicans breaking with party leadership to support the measure.
The bill passed by a 230 to 196 margin, and will now make its way to the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle.
Enhanced premium tax credits for plans available on the ACA's exchanges expired on Jan. 1 after Congress was unable to reach a deal on them. Democrats favored a "clean" extension of the credits, keeping them in place for a few more years while legislators worked toward a more permanent, bipartisan solution to premium costs. Republicans floated multiple plans for reforms, though generally preferred allowing the credits to expire and instead leaning on health savings accounts and other alternatives.
A bipartisan plan has proposed an extension for the subsidies that would include new reforms such as income caps.
President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with major health insurance companies in a bid to negotiate a deal where they would drive down costs, but a date for that meeting has not been set.
PUBLISHED: Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET
With Congress back in session this week, the debate over what's next for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its now-expired enhanced subsidies is back on.
A bipartisan group of senators is working on a deal for a package that would revive the subsidies, which ran out Jan. 1, according to a report from Politico. Open enrollment for plans on the ACA's marketplaces ends in about a week Jan. 15.
The senators' plan would extend the subsidies for two years but would add reforms such as income caps and minimum premium payments, Politico reported. These changes would be paired with revived cost-sharing reduction payments and an expansion of health savings accounts in a bid to ease costs.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, one of the lead negotiators on the deal, told Politico a draft could be released as early as next week.
The House of Representatives is also set for a procedural vote Wednesday on a Democrat-led discharge motion that would force a vote on their plan to extend the subsidies for three years. Several moderate Republicans have broken with the party to support the discharge effort.
Punchbowl News reports that the discharge vote is expected to be successful, and the House would likely pass a deal that would reach a steep climb in the Senate.
President Donald Trump is also actively wading into the discussion. Tuesday, he told Republicans in the House to ease off of demands around restrictions for funding to plans that cover abortion, per the Hill.
Trump said legislators "have to be a little flexible on Hyde." The Hyde Amendment bars federal funding from going toward abortion services.
Trump also said this week that he is planning to host major health insurance leaders at the White House in short order. He said Tuesday that he would meet with leaders from 14 companies "in a few days," Reuters reported.
Last month, the president said he wanted to meet with insurance companies to discuss ways to lower prices in a similar vein to negotiations with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers to bring down the cost of certain medications.
He said that "with one talk," he expects plans would be willing to lower prices by "50(%), 60(%) or 70%," Reuters reported at the time.