President Donald Trump appears to have a health care plan — one he teased during the debates — but pushback from some Republican lawmakers has stalled its rollout.
Reports indicated the plan would be announced this week. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson was reportedly part of the opposition to Trump’s proposal, which included a two-year extension of certain Affordable Care Act tax credits. That same extension has been the focus of Democratic-led legislation on Capitol Hill, though efforts have not yet succeeded.
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Currently, a petition in the House seeks to force a vote on the ACA tax credit extension. However, support within the Republican conference appears fractured.
"We need a longer-term plan because health care is unaffordable," Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon told Scripps News. "I mean, the ACA keeps requiring more and more tax dollars to prop it up."
Bacon said any extension should come with income caps and accountability for premium reductions.
"If we're going to do an extension, we're going to have to have some kind of income caps, I believe, and somebody to assure that every dollar spent on these premiums — or these tax credits — lowered premiums," he said. "And right now about a third of that money is not."
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Republican Congressman Mike Flood, who chairs the Republican Main Street Caucus, expressed support for Trump’s efforts to address the expiring ACA tax credits.
"Any effort to address this cliff needs to include income caps and make serious reforms to the credits, including addressing the rampant fraud and abuse in the program," Flood said in a statement. "Our caucus is committed to working with President Trump, our House leadership, and the committees of jurisdiction to find a solution that can pass Congress before the end of the year.”
Democrats, meanwhile, will need to back any deal to pass legislation by year’s end.
