A group of centrist House Republicans, frustrated with their leadership’s decision not to bring legislation temporarily extending enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies to the floor, are banding together to try to force a vote.
The group, led by Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, launched a discharge petition on Wednesday that would force a vote over leadership’s objections if 218 members — a majority of the House — sign it.
“You try to do things for the normal course. You try to do things through regular order,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said. “All those remedies are exhausted. Then you’ve got to go this route, unfortunately.”
Six Republicans, including Mr. Fitzpatrick, and two Democrats signed the discharge petition when it launched Wednesday.
Mr. Fitzpatrick is trying to pass his bipartisan bill to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits for two years with an income cap and fraud guardrails.
The two Democrats who signed the discharge petition, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Tom Suozzi of New York, were leading co-sponsors.
SEE ALSO: House Republicans ready health care package that will not extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies
Mr. Golden said he had not talked to his leadership about the discharge petition but he is hopeful they and other Democrats will support it.
“They’re going to have to decide whether or not to follow suit,” he said, noting with six Republican signatures already, support from nearly all 213 Democrats would be enough to “put it over the top.”
The Democratic Caucus is likely to discuss it during their weekly whip meeting on Thursday. A House Democrat who requested anonymity said their party leadership is opposed to the measure.
Democrats’ COVID-era expansion of the tax credits is set to expire Dec. 31. If Congress does not extend those more generous benefits, the 22 million Americans who are on subsidized Obamacare plans are expected to see their out-of-pocket premium costs more than double.
“Every member is going to have to make a decision, regardless of party, whether or not they’re putting their constituents before any other consideration,” said Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, one of the Republicans who signed the petition.
The other initial GOP signers were Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, Kevin Kiley of California and Don Bacon of Nebraska.
Mr. Bacon is not running for reelection in 2026 but the other Republican signers represent swing districts where allowing the tax credits to lapse could create political problems for them next year.
Mr. Mackenzie said the group decided to move forward with a discharge petition after House GOP leaders made clear during a conference meeting on Wednesday that an extension of the subsidies would not be included in a health care package they plan to vote on next week.
“The reason we’re in this mess to begin with is that things were done in a partisan fashion,” he said. “And so I think if we want longevity and reforms and changes, we should be doing it in a bipartisan fashion.”
Mr. Fitzpatrick said lawmakers need to look at the issue from outside Washington’s “echo chamber.”
“Too many of them are not connected with their districts where they’re actually hearing what we’re hearing,” he said. “These are friends. These are our neighbors. We care about them.”
Mr. Fitzpatrick’s bill would make some changes to the subsidies that Republicans have called for to prevent waste, fraud and abuse.
The pandemic expansion removed an income limit that prevented the subsidies from going to households earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level: $62,600 for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four.
Mr. Fitzpatrick’s bill would reinstate an income cap, but at 700% of the poverty level: $109,550 for an individual and $225,050 for a family of four.
The enhanced subsidies led to increased fraud in part because they made it so the lowest income earners could pay $0 in premiums, so brokers were enrolling people in plans without their knowledge.
Mr. Fitzpatrick’s bill would impose a minimum monthly premium of $5 to protect against that.
The measure would also give consumers the option to put half of their subsidy into a tax-exempt Health Savings Account, which could be used for other expenses besides premiums like deductibles, copays and expenses not covered by insurance.
Mr. Fitzpatrick also added a bipartisan proposal to crack down on pharmacy benefit managers, the intermediaries between drug companies and pharmacies that lawmakers blame for driving up prices.
