The Senate failed to pass either of the competing plans to fix the looming health care crisis, setting up the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s extended subsidies at the end of the year with no clear plan to help people whose premiums will spike.
According to ABC News, the Democrats’ plan, which was a clean three-year extension of ACA subsidies, was broadly rejected by the GOP. Four Republican senators — Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Josh Hawley (R-MO), crossed over to back the Democratic plan, giving it 51 votes, but falling short of the 60 votes needed.
At the same time, the GOP’s competing plan, which replaced ACA subsidies with direct payments to people with high-deductible plans that they would hold in private health savings accounts, also failed with only 51 votes. All Republicans except Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voted to back it.
The failure of both plans, which comes as Republicans in the House continue to fight over what they even want to propose as a solution, all but guarantees that millions of people who relied on the enhanced subsidies will see huge spikes in their premium costs as they enroll for the next year.
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