Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said a bill to stabilize Obamacare’s markets would be a great Christmas present for people experiencing insurance premium hikes.
But it remains unclear if the House will go along with bringing up the bill or say “bah humbug” to the whole thing.
The bill from Alexander and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., would make payments to Obamacare insurers for two years and in return states would have more latitude to waive the law’s insurer regulations.
“We are entering the Christmas season,” Alexander told reporters Monday. “It still seems very hard to imagine that Congress would not give a Christmas present of an 18 percent reduction in health insurance rates if we could do that.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she got a commitment from President Trump and GOP Senate leadership that the bill, and another that gives $10 billion in reinsurance funding, would become law by the end of the year. Reinsurance funding would help Obamacare insurers cover the highest medical claims, leading to lower premiums overall.
In return, Collins supported the Senate version of tax reform that included a repeal of the individual mandate that forces people to buy insurance. She also got several other sweeteners including a $10,000 local property tax deduction.
But a major question mark has been if the House will embrace the two bills. Collins has said Trump’s support would be enough to entice skeptical Republicans to get on board.
Alexander said most House members voted for restoring the insurer payments, which were halted by President Trump on Oct. 18, in a repeal-and-replace bill earlier this year.
However, several top Republicans have been very skeptical if the deal would fly in the House.
Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., chairman of the 170-member Republican Study Committee, recently said there is “no discussion on that over here, none, not with leadership or the Republican Study Committee.”
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he agreed with comments from House Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the Senate should pass the deals first before the House even considers them.
“I think the key is to see if it passes in the Senate,” he said.
When Alexander-Murray was first introduced back in October, it had support among 12 Republicans and all Democrats. The support meant it had the 60 votes needed to block a filibuster.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not bring the bill up because President Trump did not support it.
Now, Trump is on board after the Senate put repeal of the individual mandate in tax reform.
The House and Senate are ironing out the differences between the two versions of their tax reform bills. The House version didn’t include mandate repeal, but there is support among Republicans to include it.
