Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected a Democratic proposal to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Notably, both Republican senators from Alaska stood out, as both broke party lines and voted with Democrats.
There’s a key reason for that, Politico reported on Thursday.
“Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan’s vote Thursday in favor of Democrats’ bill to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies was the biggest surprise in a day that otherwise went according to script in the Senate,” wrote Robert King. “But Sullivan’s vote, along with that of fellow Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, Maine’s Susan Collins and Missouri’s Josh Hawley, for the Democratic bill showed that a fair number of Republicans are worried about letting the subsidies, which made Obamacare plans free for many low-income people and reduced premiums for others, go away at year’s end.”
“Both bills failed, so I hope it is a way to come together on these kinds of reforms,” Sullivan said after the votes. “My state’s hurting on this.”
Alaska, being a remote, rural state with a particularly high cost of living, has been particularly vulnerable to debates in Congress about federal cuts. During the passage of President Donald Trump’s tax cut megabill, Murkowski negotiated a carveout for Alaska from the planned cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly known as food stamps.
“People who earn more than four times the poverty level will be hurt the most if the boosted subsidies expire, because they will no longer qualify for any help. If the enhanced subsidies expire, the original ones from the 2010 Obamacare law will remain. But eligibility for those was capped by income,” noted the report. “As a result, a 60-year-old Alaskan who earns more than four times the poverty level will see their monthly premiums for an average plan increase from $555 to $2,192.”
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