Republicans in Congress who have long railed against Obamacare are showing new openness to extending subsidies under the law. Democrats are signaling that they are ready to block a bill that would avert a government shutdown without concessions on health care and other issues.
Unless Congress acts to extend health care tax credits created by Democrats during the pandemic before the subsidies expire on Dec. 30, around four million people are projected to lose coverage starting next year, and prices would go up for around 20 million more.
Separately, Congress is facing a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government, and Republicans and Democrats have made little headway on a deal for a stopgap spending measure to avert a shutdown and buy more time for a longer-term funding agreement.
The two expiration dates have become intertwined in recent days as Democrats weigh whether to provide the votes Republicans would need to allow any spending measure to move forward in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for any major legislation to advance.
The parallel deadlines have created a political dilemma for members of both parties. Republicans have insisted on spending cuts and said they don’t want to add extra provisions to the funding bill. But while they have long resisted extending Obamacare subsidies, many are eager to insulate their party on health care after almost all of them voted over the summer to enact legislation that makes deep cuts to Medicaid.
The issue also has fueled an internal debate among Democrats. Party leaders are deciding whether a deal that included extending the subsidies would be enough for them to team up with Republicans to avert a shutdown amid acute pressure from their base to withhold their votes in protest of President Trump’s policies.
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