ACA subsidies are at risk after House Speaker Mike Johnson recently announced he will not call a vote to extend them, but other House members have joined efforts to force a vote.
Eight notes for dental leaders:
1. The ACA subsidies were a focal point for the weeks-long government shutdown earlier this year.
2. The subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year, which would lead to out-of-pocket insurance premiums rising for roughly 20 million Americans next year.
3. The funding bill approved in November allowed for legislators to vote on the subsidies this month.
4. Two competing bills offering solutions to the subsidies failed in separate votes last week.
5. Mr. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said earlier this week that leaders failed to reach a deal with other members over the weekend on an ACA amendment to a healthcare bill set for a vote Dec. 17.
6. Mr. Johnson noted that one reason behind the failed agreement is that GOP leaders said they would need to find spending cuts to pay for an extension, which is projected to cost about $35 billion per year.
7. Four Republican House members joined a Democratic discharge petition Dec. 17 to force a vote on extending the subsidies for three years, The Hill reported.
8. Although the petition has the required number of signatures, it will still take time for it to get to the House floor, likely pushing a vote into next year.
