Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
House GOP Moderates Force Healthcare Vote
Yesterday, this journal commented on the decision of Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-LA), to send the House home for the holidays without a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Moderate Republicans in district vulnerable in the mid-terms needed a vote of some kind. So,four of them signed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Democratic proposal to simply extend the subsidies for 3 years. When that happened, the Speaker suddenly decided to put a GOP plan to a vote, which passed and which will likely die in the Senate or fail to reduce premiums. Still, there was a vote.
CNN reported, "If the enhanced subsidies lapse, enrollees will see their annual premium payments increase by 114% -- or about $1,000 -- on average in 2026, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. Roughly 2 million more people are also expected to be uninsured next year if the subsidies end, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The more generous assistance was enacted in 2021 as part of a Biden administration Covid-19 relief package."
The number of people affected is 22 million, 15% of the population. Losing those votes would cripple the Republican Party. So, "The House voted 216-211 to send the measure to the Senate, which is not expected to vote on it before lawmakers leave town for the holiday recess," CNN said.
The bill that passed does not extend the subsidies. Politico reported, "The House Republican health care bill would allow small businesses to offer their own health plans, crack down on drug intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers and fund another kind of subsidy designed to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for Obamacare enrollees."
Why not pass the GOP extension? "They [the GOP leadership] were worried that this bill . . . if brought to the floor, word for word, would pass. That's what they were worried about," Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) told reporters of his own legislative proposal that would extend the subsidies for two years with some restrictions on eligibility, such as income caps. They would rather deny healthcare to 22 million than to do anything to tweak "Obamacare." They have spent 15 years campaiging on "repeal and replace," but have never proposed their own plan.
The moderate GOP members of the House, facing unemployment this time next year if the polls are accurate, want more. Politico said, "House GOP moderates are now discussing options with their Senate counterparts about a bipartisan compromise bill that could pass both chambers. The lawmakers involved in these talks hope to be able to produce a proposal before the next government funding deadline Jan. 30."
The trouble is that the subsidies end December 31, not January 30. There is a problem in the timing that the GOP cannot escape. People are going to have to pay those higher premiums and hope for relief later on, or they will have to do without insurance.
There is a saying in politics that says people do not remember who gave them something, but they sure as hell remember who took it away. The Republican Party is taking away health insurance from millions, and the people know it. All things considered, buying 3 years to come up with a better plan for their next presidential nominee to run on appears wise. Wisdom is in short supply thanks to MAGA.
The decline under the Trump adminstration continues to accelerate.
© Copyright 2025 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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