Democrats are playing hardball with Republicans who are eyeing an opportunity to enact a bipartisan health package by the end of the year, Politico reported on Monday.
This is being seen as a litmus test for whether the two parties in Congress can work together during President Donald Trump's second term — and in the aftermath of the passage of the Republican megabill, which included the steepest cuts to Medicaid in the history of the program.
One particular demand Democrats are making as a condition of engagement is a costly extension of expanded tax credits for Affordable Care Act insurance premiums that are due to expire at the end of this year.
The tax credits are ones which Democrats legislated over Republican objections during the Biden administration, according to Politico. They reduced the cost of insurance on the 2010 health law exchanges for millions of people in the middle and upper classes for the first time.
Extending them is seen by some Republicans as a nonstarter, however, with House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., recently saying there are "opportunities to do several bipartisan items in healthcare and tax and in trade" after the enactment of Trump's megabill.
But extending the enhanced tax credits would be "a big problem for a lot of my members," he added.
Smith blamed Democrats for failing to come to the table on bipartisan health policies, such as proposals on how to overhaul how pharmaceutical benefit managers negotiate drug prices with manufacturers on behalf of health plans.
Democrats counter that they are upset with Republicans for making significant Medicaid changes in the megabill and then passing $9 billion in funding cuts across an number of federal programs, including those related to global health initiatives.
This makes Democrats skeptical of the next moves by the GOP. One senior Senate aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told Politico that "Democrats will not be a part of any effort to selectively dismantle the American healthcare system after Republicans put it on life support."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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