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Amid a looming expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, California Reps. Kevin Kiley (R) and Sam Liccardo (D) have presented a bipartisan solution that would temporarily extend the credits while Congress and the Trump administration eye long-term fixes to the American healthcare system.
The ACA subsidies are set to expire on December 31, which will spike millions of Americans’ healthcare premiums overnight.
The legislation, known as the “Fix It Act,” would extend the ACA tax credits for another two years, and pay for itself by “including savings from cost controls and protections against fraud and overpayments – keeping healthcare affordable for tens of millions of Americans without adding to the national debt.”
Rep. Kiley told CBS, “[House] leadership, I know, understands what’s at stake, so we’re hoping that they will see things the way that we do, and say that doing nothing is not an option. And there are enough members of our conference, as well as the Democrat caucus, that feel the same way.”
This comes amid the president’s comments earlier this week, in which he remarked that he would like to see healthcare less corporate and more privatized.
“Let the people go out and buy their own healthcare,” President Trump told the press.
He alluded to movement in Congress as far as the expiration of the tax credits, noting, “Something’s going to happen, it’s probably not going to be easy because the Democrats, frankly, never want to make a good deal for the people.”
Rep. Liccardo touched on the possibility of a “discharge petition,” which could drive legislation to the floor for a vote, even if House leadership was opposed to it.
“Right now, we have five Republicans and five Democrats on the bill, that’s not enough to get you to [a] discharge petition, but certainly I’m confident we could get the Democrats, the question is whether you have enough Republicans to do that,” he said.
“I don’t think we should rule anything out,” Kiley remarked.
A discharge petition, in Congress, is a legislative mechanism that forces a bill onto the House floor when it accrues a majority of members’ support. This bypasses the normal process of committee vetting on legislation and fast-tracks bills to a quick vote.
There is a discharge petition right now in the House, according to Rep. Liccardo, which offers a three-year extension instead of two years on ACA tax subsidies. Liccardo said he would like to see a permanent extension of the subsidies, while Kiley leaned toward fixing the broader health system.
“I actually agree that we have gotten into this vicious cycle where costs continue to go up and then the subsidies are almost having to keep pace with that,” Kiley remarked. “The problem is that the Americans who are being forced to pay these high costs shouldn’t be the ones who are punished in this…if these subsidies disappear overnight, you’re talking about folks that may be paying thousands of dollars more.”
