A gloomy New Year’s forecast calls for millions of Americans to face staggering costs for health care premiums.
Senators voted on and rejected rival health bills Thursday, eliminating two chances to address expiring COVID-era subsidies for the Affordable Care Act that will result in millions of Americans saddled with higher insurance costs in the new year, the AP reported. In fact, more than 24 million people have health insurance through the ACA. That includes farmers, ranchers, small-business owners and other self-employed people without other health insurance options through their work.
The Democratic Senate bill would have allowed the vast majority of program enrollees to keep benefiting from the enhanced subsidies for three more years. It would have saved millions of people money in the short term and allowed some who might otherwise consider skipping coverage to stay insured. The Senate voted 51-48 against the Democratic bill. Four Senate Republicans: Susan Collins (Maine), Josh Hawley (Missouri), Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) voted with all Democrats.
The Republican proposal, blocked by a 51-48 vote, would have scrapped the subsidies in favor of health savings accounts that would be funded for the next two years.
One last, but unlikely hope lies with an eleventh hour effort by local Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who introduced a bi-partisan plan called the “Health Insurance Affordability Act,” which he describes as a “two-party, target solution to prevent a sharp jump in health care insurance costs.”
Fitzpatrick is joined by Democratic Representatives Jared Golden (ME-02), Tom Suozzi (NY-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Donald G. Davis (NC-01); and Republicans Don Bacon (NE-02), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) and Rob Bresnahan (PA-08).
As of Thursday, the House had not voted on the plan, according to Spotlight PA, but Fitzpatrick and his bi-partisan group of the bill’s supporters filed a discharge petition on Wednesday to force a vote on it.
“If Brian Fitzpatrick thinks that introducing his own new bill, a mere three weeks before our neighbors see their health insurance premiums explode, will solve anything he is either dangerously naive or completely disingenuous,” said Kierstyn Zolfo, co-leader of Indivisible Bucks County.
Fitzpatrick’s discharge petition is separate from the House Democrat leadership’s discharge petition for their bill, which has 214 signatures.
“Filing this discharge petition ensures the House will have the opportunity—and obligation—to vote. Every member must decide whom they serve: the people, or the politics,” said Fitzpatrick in a press release.
Bob Harvie, a Democratic candidate running to unseat Fitzpatrick in next year’s elections, has called on the self-declared bipartisan moderate congressman to actually cross the aisle and sign the Democrats’ Discharge Petition 10.
“I continue to call on Brian Fitzpatrick to sign the discharge petition to extend the ACA tax credits by three years. This discharge petition only needs four more signatures to bring this bill to the floor. Stop the games, sign the discharge petition,” Harvie said in an email.
Over 1,000 Bucks County constituents in coordination with Indivisible Bucks County have pressured Fitzpatrick to step up, step in and actually get something done to avert this forthcoming health care insurance premium catastrophe.
“A trio of members from Doylestown delivered over 50 letters from their friends and neighbors. Two members from the Bensalem area brought in over 70 letters from their community. Concerned group members from across his district took it upon themselves to personally ensure that Congressman Fitzpatrick understands how much this issue means to us all, and that we want him to sign the discharge petition to avert this coming disaster,” said Zolfo.
Harvie pointed to Fitzpatrick’s failure to support opportunities earlier in the year to address health care costs.
“Brian Fitzpatrick had the opportunity to permanently extend the ACA tax credits as part of Trump’s budget bill back in May. When that amendment came up for a vote, Brian Fitzpatrick literally ran away,” Harvie said. “This district deserves someone who will fight for working class families, not someone who runs away when things get tough.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
