House GOP passes narrow health care package, letting key Obamacare subsidies expire

Source: CNN

House Republicans on Wednesday approved a narrow package designed to lower health care costs for some Americans in the coming years – marking a win for leadership even as some of their own members complain it falls woefully short of tackling rising prices in 2026.

Speaker Mike Johnson and his team were aggressive in pushing their health care plan to the floor this week, vowing it will be the first step of a major GOP agenda on lowering costs next year.

They are specifically ignoring, however, the issue of the expiring enhanced Obamacare subsidies that were passed during the pandemic to help people afford premium costs. Those tax credits will expire at the end of the month, spiking premiums for tens of millions of Americans next year.

The House GOP package, instead, would allow small businesses — as well as self-employed people — to band together across industries to buy coverage through association health plans in an effort to lower premiums. It would also, once again, provide federal funding for the cost-sharing subsidies that lower-income Obamacare enrollees receive to reduce their deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for care.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/house-gop-passes-narrow-health-232904450.html