Senate moderates are reaching for any hint of a breakthrough on the looming expiration of Obamacare subsidies as they try to find a way out of the government shutdown.
But there’s still a long way to go to get anything done on the enhanced premium tax credits that expire at year’s end. As the Senate returned to town Monday night, there were a few developments on the subsidy talks. Here’s what we’re watching:
1) President Donald Trump said he’d be open to cutting a health care deal with Democrats, comments that some senators on both sides of the aisle welcomed.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) called Trump’s remarks “helpful.”
“To have the president say this is something we need to address — it’s important,” said Shaheen, who’s been leading some bipartisan conversations on an extension of the Obamacare subsidies.
Republican leaders remain adamant that Democrats must first vote to reopen the government, but several rank-and-file GOP senators pointed to Trump’s openness to discussions as a sign they’re serious.
“The Democrats want to have these talks. The president has just signaled he wants to talk. But reopen the government,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said. “Let’s make sure we have something that prevents us from doing this again, that keeps us at the table. Maybe some trigger points — who knows.”
2) Some key senators involved in talks are offering up more details on what they’re willing to do.
Here’s Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who’s working on a plan of her own, as we mentioned above:
“There are many of us who want to see an extension of the tax credits so that they don’t expire but want to see reforms as well so that people who have household incomes of over $200,000 a year, for example, should not qualify, in my view, for the subsidy.”
Cutting off the subsidies for households making over $200,000 would leave the vast majority of benefits intact, per JCT’s analysis. Income caps could be tricky, though, especially for some House members representing wealthier areas.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told reporters he’s open to changes to the Obamacare subsidies but emphasized Republicans have to show they’re serious about cutting a deal.
“If they want to put some reforms forward, I would absolutely feel comfortable looking at them and make a decision,” Gallego said.
3) GOP senators are saying they need more time. This just wouldn’t be a simple deal for Republicans, many of whom hate the enhanced subsidies.
“Obamacare is broken,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “And it is not an easy thing to fix in a matter of weeks.”
