A bipartisan deal to stabilize Obamacare’s markets likely will be considered as part of an end-of-year spending bill, according to one of the senators touting it.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters Thursday that the deal crafted by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., could end up in a deal to fund the government at the end of this year.
“I really expect this will probably be a December activity,” Rounds said.
The federal government runs out of money Dec. 8, and Congress must not only pass a spending deal but also raise the debt ceiling then.
The healthcare deal announced last month has 12 Republican co-sponsors and support from all Democratic senators, meaning it has 60 votes to break a filibuster. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has decided not to bring it up until President Trump supports it.
Rounds, who is helping the senators sell the bill, said that more time could help quell opposition from Trump.
“I think between now and then, it means the administration will have an opportunity to look at areas where the president expressed concerns on,” Rounds said.
The deal would fund Obamacare insurer payments called cost-sharing reduction payments for two years. In exchange, it would give states much more flexibility to waive Obamacare regulations.
Trump has labeled the payments as a “bailout” to Obamacare insurers. He has called for relief from the individual and employer mandates in Obamacare for individuals to buy insurance and larger employees to provide it.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is also opposed to the deal.
Alexander said Thursday that he is waiting to see what Trump wants to do.
Obamacare open enrollment started Wednesday and ends Dec. 15.
The payments reimburse insurers for lowering out-of-pocket costs for low-income Obamacare enrollees, which is required under the law. Insurers on the individual market, which features the law’s exchanges, are raising prices by double digits to recoup the loss of the payments.
Murray pointed to support from about 200 medical organizations. She chafed that the deal hasn’t been done yet.
“This should have been done two months ago, so every day that goes by makes it harder for constituents and consumers,” she told reporters.
