Bipartisan deal on Obamacare subsidies fades as Republicans push HSA plan
The chances of a bipartisan solution to expiring Obamacare subsidies are growing slimmer with each passing day as the Senate gears up for a vote next week on extending the...
By Fox News · Fox News
The chances of a bipartisan solution to expiring Obamacare subsidies are growing slimmer with each passing day as the Senate gears up for a vote next week on extending the credits. Senate Democrats made the subsidies the focal point of their position during the government shutdown, which ended only after a group of Democrats broke from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., based largely on a guarantee from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., that lawmakers would get a chance to vote on extending the subsidies. And next week is Thune’s deadline to get a proposal on the floor, but the likelihood that it is bipartisan is fast fading. GOP WRESTLES WITH OBAMACARE FIX AS TRUMP LOOMS OVER SUBSIDY FIGHT "I mean, my assumption is that by next week, when we have to have that vote, that we might not be far enough along in the bipartisan discussions. But my assumption is we'll still have a vote of some kind, because that's what we're committed to do," Thune said. Bipartisan talks have been ongoing, both during the shutdown and in the weeks after. But those have yet to yield a plan that could muster the 60 votes necessary to break through the filibuster in the upper chamber. Republicans want to see reforms to the program and are floating proposals that would see money from the subsidies that normally flows to insurance companies be sent directly to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) — a plan previously floated by President Donald Trump . Democrats, however, want a cleaner extension of subsidies but are open to reforms either up front or down the line. RICK SCOTT CALLS DEMOCRATS 'HEARTLESS' AS HE PITCHES NEW OBAMACARE FIX Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital he’s been involved in talks with colleagues across the aisle, but those discussions had recently slowed. He agreed that a bipartisan solution was likely out of reach by next week’s vote. "I mean, I would love to see that, but it's not realistic, and I'm putting my eggs into the basket for Jan. 30, a…