A Democrat-backed Senate bill that would address Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year's end received support from four Republicans on Thursday, but not enough to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.
Democrats were secured a promise of a Senate vote this month on extending the expiring subsidies as part of the agreement to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Their proposal failed 51-48.
A related Republican bill aimed at addressing rising health insurance premiums in the new year also failed 51-48, receiving no support from Democrats.
The Democrats' bill, sponsored by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would have extended the subsidies for three years.
Democrats put the subsidies in place during the pandemic. They were initially set to expire in 2022, but Democrats extended them through Dec. 31.
The four Republicans who broke ranks are Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, and Josh Hawley of Missouri, all of whom also voted for the Republican proposal.
Collins and Sullivan are up for reelection in 2026, and Collins, who has said she intends to seek a sixth term, is the only Republican running in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024.
Some analysts say Sullivan's seat is vulnerable, but unlike Maine, Alaska has been a reliably Republican state. Still, Collins has long proved a difficult target for Democrats.
Collins introduced a bill on Monday with Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, to extend the subsidies for two years while limiting them to households earning less than $200,000 annually. Their proposal would also require lower-income Americans on the federal healthcare marketplace to pay at least $25 in monthly premiums.
"I'm really an all-of-the-above-approach kind of guy," Hawley told reporters, according to The Hill. "At this point, I think we need to do everything we can to bring down the cost of premiums."
Hawley said he would support plans to address rising health insurance costs, including proposals that did not come to the floor for a vote this week.
"Let's take some votes and show people that we want to do all that we can," he said. "If you talk to people, what they're going to say is their health care costs are out of control."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Republicans plan to bring to the floor next week several healthcare proposals that do not include extending subsidies, The Wall Street Journal reported.
But other lawmakers see extending the subsidies as the only way to prevent widespread financial pain ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and position a GOP-led Congress to make more sweeping changes.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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