Republican leaders in the House Energy and Commerce Committee have criticized Democratic efforts to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, arguing that these measures have led to wasteful spending and failed to make health care more affordable. Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, chairman of the committee, and Congressman Morgan Griffith of Virginia, who leads the Subcommittee on Health, discussed their positions in an interview with Breitbart News.
Guthrie stated: “What we’ve heard from both sides of the aisle is that Obamacare is not affordable. But what we’ve not heard is Democrats acknowledge the waste, fraud, and abuse that’s been enabled by these temporary subsidies — including massive handouts to big health insurance companies and expanded taxpayer subsidies to the wealthiest Obamacare enrollees.”
Griffith commented on ongoing government funding negotiations: “Congressional Democrats’ demands to open the government are partly based on the premise that affordable health care is out of reach for many Americans. What Democrats now want as part of $1.5 trillion in additional federal spending is a permanent and everlasting program that they designated to expire in 2025.”
The lawmakers noted that a government shutdown has continued for over a month due to disagreements about expiring Biden-era ACA credits. These enhanced credits were initially established under the American Rescue Plan during the pandemic and extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Guthrie criticized Democrats for focusing on extending these subsidies rather than working with Republicans on alternative approaches: “With the Democrat-designed sunset date of December 31 for these COVID-era subsidies, we could have been utilizing this month to continue finding more tangible, meaningful solutions to make health care more affordable for Americans. Instead, Democrats chose to hold the American people hostage over billion-dollar handouts to big insurance companies.”
Griffith added: “Democrats initially created the temporary COVID-19 era ‘enhanced’ premium tax credits to help people who struggled from the economic fallout of the pandemic. But now, Democrats are doubling down on the temporary ‘enhanced’ credits as a means to subsidize Obamacare.” He continued: “Whether intended or not, this is a stunning admission that President Obama’s signature healthcare program, Obamacare, has failed to provide affordable health care to the American people. Issues to soften the impacts of the Democratic Party’s failed policies can be discussed if we get the government open again.”
Republicans argue that their proposals would lower premiums by nearly double compared with simply extending current ACA subsidies. They point out that cost-sharing reduction payments (CSRs), which were removed from recent legislation after objections from Senate Democrats citing procedural rules, would have provided financial assistance for those enrolled in Silver-level ACA plans and helped reduce out-of-pocket costs.
According to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), proposed reforms could have reduced premiums by 12.7 percent and cut costs by reducing reliance on enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs) and CSRs—potentially saving $30.8 billion.
Guthrie further said: “Democrats have not once approached me, or my staff, to find a path forward. Republicans, time and again, have voted for policies that lower healthcare premiums by nearly double what extending Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits would. Democrats unanimously opposed these commonsense policies and actively worked to undermine our efforts to lower premiums for the 7 percent of Americans who choose to enroll in an Obamacare plan. We stand ready to work across the aisle to advance real solutions that address the root causes impacting health care affordability.”
The Energy and Commerce Committee cited examples where wealthy individuals benefited from enhanced ACA subsidies—including multimillionaires receiving thousands in annual taxpayer support—and referenced estimates from Paragon Health Institute suggesting annual enrollment fraud related to Obamacare could exceed $26 billion.
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