Senate Dems block Republicans' HSA plan as Obamacare deadline nears

By Fox News · Fox News

Senate Democrats banded together to kill Republicans’ plan to replace expiring Obamacare subsidies on Thursday, knocking the first of two proposals down for the count. Senate Republicans’ plan from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the chairs of the Senate health and finance panels, would have abandoned the Obamacare enhanced premium subsidies for health savings accounts (HSAs), along with several reforms that Republicans appeared largely unified behind earlier this week. Still, not every Senate Republican voted for the bill. Sen. Rand Paul , R-Ky., joined all Senate Democrats in tanking the legislation on a largely party-line vote. GOP ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF MANUFACTURING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS AS OBAMACARE SUBSIDY FIGHT NEARS DEADLINE Lawmakers are now set to vote on Senate Democrats’ plan, which would extend the subsidies for another three years. That proposal is also expected to fail, given that Senate Republicans broadly don’t want to extend the subsidies without myriad reforms. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats have pitched their plan as the only option to prevent healthcare premiums from skyrocketing, while Republicans contended that the subsidies are rife with fraud and that the entire Obamacare system was causing premium prices to crank up year after year. "The Cassidy-Crapo [plan] is not a healthcare plan," Schumer said. "It's not a plan at all. It's an excuse. It's a fig leaf. Because Republicans are so divided and can't come up with a plan that unites them. They propose this fig leaf." "My guess is most Republicans themselves are grimacing that they even have to vote for this thing," he continued. "How is a one-time check going to help you if you're paying 1,000 or $2,000 a month more for health insurance ?" DUELING OBAMACARE PLANS SET TO FAIL AS DEADLINE NEARS, PUSHING SENATE TOWARD BIPARTISAN TALKS Cassidy and Crapo’s plan would have seeded HSAs with $1,000 for people ages 18 to 49 and $1,500 for those 5…