Top Republican senators want to temporarily extend Obamacare subsidies to 6.4 million people if the Supreme Court strips them, but it is unknown if such a plan could get past a skeptical House.
The backup plan was floated by Sens. Orrin Hatch, Lamar Alexander and John Barrasso in an opinion piece late Sunday in the Washington Post.
If the Supreme Court rules against the government in King v. Burwell, then it would eliminate Obamacare subsidies to residents in 37 states that didn’t create their own insurance exchange.
The Republicans’ plan would temporarily keep subsidies for those residents for an unspecified period of time, and there would be separate legislation to give states more flexibility that haven’t set up their own exchanges.
The senators, who each helm top committees, don’t go into specifics about the plan. They do touch on whether other Republicans that have resisted Obamacare at every opportunity will go for this plan.
“We have had many discussions with our Senate and House Republican colleagues on this issue, and there is a great deal of consensus on how to proceed,” the opinion piece reads. Many of our colleagues have good ideas, and we look forward to working together.”
The piece comes after top Obama officials have said there is no plan B in case the Supreme Court doesn’t go their way.
Oral arguments for the case start Wednesday.
