Senate quietly works on bipartisan Obamacare fix as healthcare cliff nears
Obamacare subsidies that have dominated the conversation on Capitol Hill are set to expire after Congress failed to act, but a cohort of bipartisan senators are quietly working to find...
By Fox News · Fox News
Obamacare subsidies that have dominated the conversation on Capitol Hill are set to expire after Congress failed to act, but a cohort of bipartisan senators are quietly working to find a solution for when lawmakers return next year. It has engulfed Congress since September and played a starring role in the longest-ever government shutdown. And both Republicans and Democrats tried, and failed, to pass their partisan plans to either extend or replace the Biden-era enhanced tax credits. They are guaranteed to expire, and millions of Americans who use the subsidies are set to experience hikes to their out-of-pocket costs for healthcare that can vary widely depending on the state. SANDERS BLASTED AFTER BLOCKING BIPARTISAN KIDS' CANCER RESEARCH BILL: 'GRINCH,' 'SELFISH' Still, some in Congress haven’t given up on the issue. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, held bipartisan confabs last week as lawmakers readied to leave Washington, D.C., to hash out a framework for an Obamacare fix that could meet the desires of both sides of the aisle. There are several political landmines that the group will have to overcome, like Democrats’ demands for a relatively clean, multiyear extension of the subsidies and Republicans' desires to add income caps and anti-fraud measures. "We have some momentum to enact a bipartisan bill that includes reforms," Collins said. "As you know, Senator Moreno and I convened an ideologically diverse group of both Democratic and Republican senators who met for nearly two hours on Monday night, and we're now working on drafting a specific bill to incorporate those conversations that will include reforms as well as the two-year extension." FOUR REPUBLICANS BUCK MIKE JOHNSON TO JOIN HAKEEM JEFFRIES' OBAMACARE PUSH The plan has yet to see the light of day, but Collins and Moreno both already have a public proposal , as do several other lawmakers in the upper chamber. Their original plan, released earlier this month, would extend the sub…