Party divides are becoming wider and wider as the Senate rejected two healthcare bills focused on the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, drawing criticism from several healthcare organizations.
One was a Democratic bill that would have extended ACA enhanced premium tax credits for three years. The subsidies have lowered premiums for those receiving healthcare on the marketplaces and are set to expire at the end of the year. It’s estimated that if the tax credits expire, ACA Marketplace premiums will more than double on average next year.
The other was a Republican bill that would not have extended the subsidies, but instead would have provided up to $1,500 a year in payments for health savings accounts for those making less than 700% of the federal poverty level. However, this money could not have been used on premiums.
The bills needed at least 60 votes to pass, but both received votes of 51-48. Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Josh Hawley (Missouri), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) voted in favor of the Democratic bill. No Democrats voted in support of the Republican bill, and Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) was the only Republican to oppose this bill.
Families USA, a patient advocacy organization, condemned the Senate’s vote.
“Today’s Senate vote to reject the extension of premium tax credits will have devastating, immediate consequences for the health and finances of families across the country, and that will reverberate throughout the health care system we all rely on,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA, in a statement. “Just days away from the deadline for Americans to sign up for coverage that starts January 1, senators decided to let premiums double or more for 22 million Americans who rely on these premium tax credits to make coverage affordable.”
The organization also called on the House to step up to extend the tax credits, though there’s currently no consensus on a plan in the House yet.
The Association for Community Affiliated Plans echoed these comments.
“Families deserve a workable answer to skyrocketing premium costs,” said Margaret A. Murray, CEO of ACAP. “Sound bites aren’t helpful—policy solutions are. These enhanced tax credits offered to families who rely on Marketplace coverage have been a wildly successful way to help make coverage affordable. Simply allowing subsidies to lapse is a way to willfully shoot costs skyward for millions of families. This moment demands policy solutions that will help working- and middle-class families this holiday season, not split-screen messaging efforts.”
Community Catalyst, an organization focused on race equity and health justice, also came out against the vote, stating that the Senate’s inaction, combined with the One Big Beautiful Bill, will severely harm access to care.
“We know who will bear the brunt: Black, Latinx, immigrant, and low-income families, who already face the steepest affordability barriers because decades of policy decisions have limited wages, wealth, and access to stable, affordable coverage,” said Michelle Sternthal, director of government affairs at Community Catalyst. “If Republicans were serious about lowering costs, they would immediately pass a permanent, clean extension of these tax credits and repeal the dangerous health care cuts in H.R. 1.”
Photo: MikeyLPT, Getty Images
