Senate Democrats are planning to introduce a resolution opposing the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term health plans, hoping to put Republicans on record on a move experts say could impact Obamacare premiums.
Democrats aim to introduce a resolution through the Congressional Review Act, legislation that allows a Senator to get a vote on a resolution opposing a new agency regulation. The maneuver would force Senate Republicans pick a side for or against the administration’s short-term plans, which Democrats have said is part of a larger campaign by the Trump administration to “sabotage” Obamacare.
“These plans are nothing short of junk,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on a call with reporters Thursday. “When people buy them, they are always going to be disappointed.”
The administration finalized earlier this week a rule that expands the duration of short-term plans from 90 days to 12 months. Trump officials say the plans are meant to expand access to affordable options for people who can’t pay for Obamacare because of the high premiums.
Democrats said that the plans are “junk insurance” because they are not required to cover pre-existing conditions or cover essential benefits, which plans sold on Obamacare’s insurance marketplaces are required to do.
Critics and experts have said that the new rule could cause younger and healthier people to flee Obamacare’s marketplaces for the cheaper short-term plans. The new rule, alongside the zeroing out of the individual mandate penalty in 2019 and expansion of cheaper association health plans, could cause higher premiums on Obamacare marketplaces, several experts have said.
Democrats are optimistic they can get the resolution through the Senate, even if it will likely not lead to the removal of the short-term plan regulation. The resolution will only require 51 votes to pass the Senate, instead of the 60 votes needed to end a legislative filibuster.
They point to a successful resolution earlier this year against the Trump administration’s net neutrality rules, and hope to get GOP support for the resolution.
“As we saw with net neutrality vote, passing this in the Senate is possible,” Schumer said. “All we need is 51 votes.”
Currently the GOP has a 51-49 majority in the Senate.
Schumer said there isn’t a set time when they want the resolution to come up, but hopes to have a vote before the 2018 midterm elections this fall.
Democrats have continually attacked the GOP and the Trump administration over their efforts to repeal Obamacare and what they call “sabotage” of the law.
