Chances dwindling for renewal of health care subsidies, risking premium spikes for millions

By MARY CLARE JALONICK WASHINGTON AP Hopes for an extension of soundness care subsidies were diminishing in Congress this week as Republicans and Democrats largely abandoned the idea of bipartisan talks on the issue increasing the odds that millions of Americans could see sharp premium spikes starting Jan Related Articles Trump administration says it will withhold SNAP from Democrat-led states if they don t provide details Trump says he doesn t want Somalis in the US urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it Federal officers plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrants AP source says Hegseth cites fog of war in defending follow-on strike in scrutinized attack on alleged drug boat Shooting of National Guard members prompts flurry of US immigration restrictions Democrats who agreed earlier this month to reopen the ruling body in exchange for a December wellness care vote were hoping they could work with Republicans to extend the COVID-era Affordable Care Act tax credits that help various Americans pay for their wellbeing coverage But lawmakers in both parties have spent the greater part of the time since talking amongst themselves instead while rehashing longstanding partisan arguments over the law in residents I don t think at this point we have a clear path forward I don t think the Democrats have a clear path forward Senate Majority Leader John Thune commented Tuesday after Republicans met and discussed different proposals to overhaul the law The impasse means the Senate vote expected next week could be a party-line messaging exercise with no real chance of passage Under the deal struck to end the shutdown Democrats can determine the bill that comes up for a vote But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated they are leaning toward a vote on a straight extension of the subsidies with no new limits or tweaks to the law which Republicans have already rejected So far the Republicans are in total disarray and have no plan Schumer stated Tuesday We have a plan Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N Y speaks during the Senate Democrat strategy luncheon news conference at the Capitol Tuesday Dec in Washington AP Photo Rod Lamkey Jr Democrats say they are willing to negotiate on the issue and particular have declared they would be open to new limits on the subsidies But they argue that two main issues are holding up talks the lack of input from President Donald Trump and Republicans insistence that abortion funding be part of the discussion Our Republican colleagues aren t going to engage with us unless Trump weighs in disclosed Sen Peter Welch D-Vt That s the paralysis here Abortion issue holds up compromise Maine Sen Angus King an independent who caucuses with the Democrats was part of the group that struck a deal to end the shutdown He says there have been certain informal bipartisan discussions since then but says they stalled as Republicans insisted on stricter abortion restrictions on Affordable Care Act plans They have set up a red line that is also a red line for the Democrats King mentioned of Republicans So they re going to own these increases Missouri Sen Josh Hawley who has declared he wants to see the tax credits extended reported the issue should not be a deal-killer since a ban on federal funding for abortions is already in the law Democrats say current law should be sufficient While a large number of states ban abortion coverage from all plans in the ACA marketplaces others allow or require abortion coverage that isn t paid for with federal funding Republicans weigh different plans Beyond the abortion issue a great number of Republicans have declared for years that they want to see the ACA scrapped or overhauled But there is still little consensus in the GOP about whether to do that or how Republican senators have discussed several competing proposals in latest weeks Louisiana Sen Bill Cassidy and Florida Sen Rick Scott have suggested creating different types of wellness savings accounts that would change the way people buy insurance an idea that Trump has endorsed in social media posts without much detail Other senators have suggested extending the subsidies with new limits on income Thune stated Tuesday that we will see where the Republicans come down but that conversation continues Republicans want to work on a constructive response he revealed but that hasn t landed yet In the House lawmakers were also discussing different ideas But there was no indication that any of them could be ready by the end of the year or generate enough bipartisan advocacy Vitality care is a very complicated issue House Speaker Mike Johnson R-La announced Tuesday while insisting that Republicans were still pulling ideas together Trump gives little guidance Lawmakers in both parties have announced it will be hard to move forward without Trump s help for a plan But the president has yet to formally endorse any rule Last week the White House circulated a proposal to extend the subsidies with particular limits like new income caps and a requirement that all recipients pay several sort of premium The proposal would also have allowed those in lower-tier plans such as the bronze-level or catastrophic plans to put money into medical savings accounts But the proposal was never disclosed Questioned last week whether he wants to extend the subsidies Trump appeared to refer to the leaked plan saying that somebody declared I requested to extend it for two years I d rather not extend them at all Still he acknowledged that various sort of extension may be necessary Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim Lisa Mascaro and Ali Swenson contributed to this account