Inside the House GOP’s Battle Over Health Care |
House Republican leadership is hoping to pass a health care plan this week. But it could hit some major speed bumps along the way.
Going into the last week in session before Christmas break, House Republicans are in a rush to pass premium-slashing legislation to counter Democrat-led efforts to extend enhanced premium tax credit levels set in place under President Joe Biden.
Republicans, arguing that these tax credits are expensive, prone to fraud, and inflationary, are now trying to advance their policy alternative as the credits are set to expire at the end of the year.
The Republican bill is not a highly ambitious repeal, reform, or restructuring of Obamacare. Rather, it is a bundle of focused tweaks to the health insurance system that aims to lower health care costs, instead of the government’s current strategy, which has been to have government subsidize an increasingly unaffordable health care system.
The bill’s lack of highly controversial provisions is by design, as Republicans will need to rally their narrow majority in the House and pick up at least seven Democrat votes in the Senate to have any chance of the bill reaching the president’s desk before the credit........