High-ranking Democratic Sen. Patty Murray has laid out proposals for helping to stabilize Obamacare’s exchanges that would involve injecting billions of federal dollars into the market so that premiums don’t rise as much as initial requests show.
Murray, D-Wash., pointed to proposals made by other Senate Democrats, including a provision that would allow people who live in counties with no Obamacare insurer to purchase the same coverage as Congress and another that calls for a reinsurance program. Though she didn’t specify how much to spend on the program, which would help lower premiums for people who don’t receive subsidies under Obamacare, previous programs that the law set up for a limited period of time allocated $10 billion in 2014, $6 billion in 2015 and $4 billion in 2016.
“Democrats and Republicans actually agree on many solutions when it comes to stabilizing markets and preventing premium increases,” Murray wrote in an op-ed published in the Washington Post. “Rather than wasting time on issues that divide us, we should prioritize finding common ground and moving the ball in the right direction.”
It’s not clear that Republicans would support a reinsurance program or the provision to allow people in “bare counties” to buy different coverage, or whether these could be enacted in time for a Sept. 29 deadline for insurers. Murray went on to outline policy proposals she objects to, which have been raised by Republicans. She wrote that she would not support a provision that would make changes to insurance mandates, a move Senate and House GOPs have said is important to giving states more flexibility on healthcare and to lowering costs.
“I will reject any effort to use this process as a back door to pass parts of Trumpcare that would erode protections for people with pre-existing conditions — for example, women seeking maternity care or those with mental illness or substance-use disorders,” she wrote.
She also indicated her support for a public option, which would allow people to have an alternative to buying private coverage. Republicans have been opposed to this provision, and it was dropped from Obamacare when the law passed amid Democratic divisions almost eight years ago.
Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee are holding hearings this week to determine how to stabilize the exchanges, which are facing troubles amid insurer exits and rising premiums. The issues are occurring because of ongoing problems with the exchanges after not enough young, healthy people signed up for plans, but insurers have also said they face too much uncertainty ahead from the Trump administration, and do not know how to price their plans. In particular, they have pointed to cost-sharing reduction subsidies, which are being allocated month by month by the Trump administration after being legally challenged under former President Barack Obama. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a Republican and chairman of the HELP Committee, has indicated he is willing to allocate the funds for a year, but in her editorial Murray called for a longer appropriation.
It’s unclear whether Senate Democrats or more conservative Republicans will be willing to vote for a bill that includes the funds, or whether they will be able to reach any agreement on Obamacare. In hearings senators will meet with health policy experts, governors and health insurance commissioners.
